Total Immersion adds Vantage Surgical Systems to North American AR Partner network

Total Immersion (www.t-immersion.com), the global leader in augmented reality (AR), today announced the addition of Vantage Surgical Systems as a Certified D'Fusion Value Added Reseller to its North American Partner network, the world's largest network dedicated to AR.

“We're hopeful that its success, in turn, will inspire development of similar AR systems in other fields of surgery.”

Based in Los Angeles, Vantage Surgical Systems is a new medical technology company pioneering advanced surgical visualization solutions through the use of AR and other techniques. Its mission is to improve patient outcomes through superior visualization during live surgery, which is accomplished by overlaying and tracking diagnostic data on a surgeon's field of vision in real time. Vantage calls this technology "Computed Surgical Visualization" (CSV™), and believes CSV will in time be applied to any surgery using endoscopes or visual aids such as microscopes.

Currently, surgeons analyze diagnostic images prior to surgery, mentally create a plan of action, commit everything to memory, and then translate these mental images into action in the operating room, in 3D and real-time. CSV will greatly relieve surgeons of this burden and by accurately overlaying such diagnostic images over a live, moving camera feed, effectively enable them to "see through organs" while performing surgery.

According to Vantage CEO Vacit Arat, ophthalmology, especially retinal surgery, offers the quickest promise of rapid CSV deployment. In today's retinal laser surgical procedures, while the eye is continuously moving, surgeons must manually aim lasers one target at a time, leaving a great deal of room for inaccurate execution and taking a long time to go through the whole procedure. When used as part of an automated retinal laser surgery procedure, the AR system helps eliminate human error in targeting while greatly accelerating the time it takes to perform the surgery.

In the Vantage AR application, the surgeon overlays diagnostic images (such as fluorescein angiograms and OCT) on the real-time camera feed of the retina with the help of AR, and creates a map of the multiple targets the laser must address. The system tracks the movements of the eye to maintain accurate location of these targets in real time. In the treatment step, the surgeon simply presses "run" and the laser automatically hits the target points in their most recent location in a quick sequence. Finally, the system generates a report while keeping a digital record of the treatment for future reference.

"An ophthalmology AR system could be on the market in a year or two, well ahead of other applications in surgery, because it builds on various FDA-approved procedures," Arat said. "We're hopeful that its success, in turn, will inspire development of similar AR systems in other fields of surgery."

"Vantage Surgical Systems is at the forefront of an AR revolution in medical technologies," said Bruno Uzzan, co-founder and CEO, Total Immersion. "This system represents a real breakthrough in how AR is being applied to address - and solve - some of the most daunting challenges in medicine and science. We view augmented reality as a new way of seeing, so perhaps it's fitting that the first application area involves protecting the gift of sight."

Bringing a significant new business opportunity to U.S. VARs and Resellers, Total Immersion has rolled out a strategic program to recruit select Partners in a range of vertical markets throughout North America and equip them with next-generation tools to independently market and develop customized AR solutions.

In 2009 Total Immersion deployed some 270 projects in 50 countries, with more than 50 percent of the business completed through its Partner network. The company's growth strategy outside North America has been driven in large measure through its Partners, each of whom brings specialized expertise and geographic reach that complement its overall sales and distribution effort.

According to Gartner, Inc., augmented reality is one of the "top 10 disruptive technologies" of our time. Total Immersion, the commercial pioneer in the space, brings more than a decade of experience on three continents, an extensive and proven support infrastructure, and a host of profit opportunities for participating Partners. Total Immersion Partners help drive AR standards on a worldwide scale while benefiting from the largest AR team dedicated to supporting Partner businesses - from pre-sales and sales activity, to tech support, to lead sharing and co-marketing opportunities.