Q&A: Osso VR on the changing virtual reality funding environment

Osso VR is a digital actuality surgical coaching and evaluation platform that enables customers to apply surgical strategies independently or with a group in an immersive setting. 

The corporate’s founder and CEO, Dr. Justin Barad, who can also be a working towards pediatric orthopedic surgeon at UCLA’s Orthopaedic Institute for Kids, spoke with MobiHealthNews about Osso VR’s fundraising and what the corporate goals to perform because it grows. 

MobiHealthNews: Osso VR garnered $27 million in Sequence B funding in 2021 and $66 million in Sequence C funding final yr. Have you ever discovered in search of funding for the corporate’s prolonged actuality expertise difficult?

Dr. Justin Barad: Properly, fundraising is all the time exhausting, and fundraising for XR/VR has had durations the place it is extremely troublesome. Within the early days, like round once we bought began in 2016, I might say that XR was like saying that final yr you had an NFT firm, or this yr you might have a GenAI firm. It was the new factor, and it was very simple to get began — too simple. I assumed, “Oh, that is going to be nice.” After which there have been form of a number of VR/XR downturns the place individuals are simply very bearish on the expertise, and definitely we skilled that. 

I might say the Sequence A was in all probability fairly difficult each due to a bit little bit of that mentality, but in addition COVID had simply began. In order that was initially very troublesome, however then instantly it simply [did a 180] when folks realized expertise like this may be important. 

There are a variety of challenges within the XR area, and {hardware} is tough. You see Meta simply placing some huge cash into it and nonetheless it hasn’t actually appeared to succeed in fruition. After which, content material must be developed for XR, which might be fairly difficult. And I believe that is the place lots of people wrestle on this area, creating sufficient high-quality content material quick sufficient, affordably sufficient. And I believe that is the place a variety of the expertise stacks are available. However that’s getting higher as firms like ours are form of main the pack and getting extra mature and creating tooling and automation. And positively, generative AI has the promise of actually accelerating XR and VR content material creation. It is not there but. It is already serving to in some ways, nevertheless it’s type of the promise of producing real-time, 3D fashions which can be textured, and particularly which can be specialised in our area for medical training and issues that generally should be regulated could be very fascinating. 

MHN: What’s subsequent for the corporate?

Barad: We now have a variety of stuff within the pipe. I believe our focus for this yr is round actually broadening entry in our core areas. So we simulate all surgical procedure. We’ll do any specialty, however now we have a few areas which can be a spotlight for us to develop a holistic type of coaching program, which incorporates trade, tutorial medical facilities {and professional} societies. So these areas for us are orthopedic backbone and cardiology, or just like the interventional area broadly as a result of that features peripheral vascular surgical procedure, neurovascular, et cetera, however something you are doing by a catheter. 

We’re additionally working with tutorial medical facilities, like UCLA [University of California Los Angeles], for instance, and UCSF [University of California San Francisco] and others, to develop residency-based curriculums after which additionally skilled societies. So we’re partnered with the American School of Cardiology to develop a content material curriculum for interventional cardiologists. 

And so our imaginative and prescient is that we would wish to make Osso VR customary for all coaching, each once you’re in your formal coaching, which is residency and fellowship, and past. And in addition, how can we dial in additional of the nice motor actions of your fingers and the cutaneous haptic experiences? In order that’s one other focus there of simply all the time pushing the sting in what’s real looking, but in addition academic, and main with a real-world worth. 

Research are a giant focus for us. So now we have some actually thrilling research that in a laboratory setting Osso VR works unbelievably nicely. So now we need to begin , how is that this affecting sufferers and within the working room? And ultimately affected person outcomes. So now we have some longitudinal research. We’re truly following folks over six months to see how Osso VR goes to have an effect on their affected person care, which is de facto thrilling.  

With expertise like this and different applied sciences, like robotics, we will actually make care so constant and we will make outcomes rather more predictable and optimized for sufferers in every single place, irrespective of who they’re.

Didi Davis will supply extra element through the HIMSS23 session “The Sequoia Undertaking: Interoperability Issues Course of for Enhancing Information Usability.” It’s scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, at 4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. CT on the South Constructing, Stage 1, room S100 C.