Market Traction and Milestones for SurgeonsLab

SurgeonsLab digital and physical twins of the patients are microscopic, accurate to the sub-millimeter size of microanatomical structures in the brain that are replicated through the startup's unique AI tools derived from patient image scans. CEO & Founder Dr. Fredrick Johnson Joseph explains that the twin models used in the simulator are personalized in such a way that a doctor can tailor and prepare the surgery unique to each patient. Implants and strategies can be trained well in advance without endangering the patient’s life, ensuring patient safety. Adding: “Our simulator offers training for complication management, so the trainee gets immediate feedback quantitively, which can be shared with their mentors. The simulator is a mixed-reality platform consisting of physical dynamic patient models and a virtual environment for training exercises.”

Market traction and results

Since its incorporation in 2021, SurgeonsLab has validated its product clinically and scientifically. Now it is commercially launched, and the team is offering to its customers various neurosurgical and radiological interventional training services. Speaking of the market traction, the CEO explains: “We have successfully onboarded key industry partners and top neurosurgical centers as customers. In addition, we are in a growth phase and scaling up our technology to other microsurgical fields of the body, especially in Head and Neck surgery and heart interventions (Cardiovascular) procedures through clinically acceptable exercises and gamification technologies.”

Today the High-Fidelity Training simulator is on the market with commercial presences in Switzerland, major hospitals in Scandinavian countries, and China. Among its clients are Bern’s Inselspital and Shanghai University Hospital. The startup has also pilot projects with Helsinki University Hospital Neurosurgery Clinic and collaborates with EANS (European Neurosurgeons Society) for most of their hands-on training courses and events.

Industry Customers, include Zeiss AG, Aesculap AG, Leica AG, and Olympus Europa SE & Co. KG who use SurgeonsLab’s technology for technical demonstrations and training. Around ten hospitals use the startup’s solution and services globally. Interestingly, one of the other startup’s business models includes renting its simulator for a few days or months. In such a case, the company has 25 simulators on its rental pool with 300+ patient-specific models.

So far 100+ Neurosurgical and radiological residents got trained (800 training hours), 40 Neurosurgeons benefitted, and two patient-specific cases were planned and trained using the simulator.  The simulator currently offers pre-operative patient-specific surgeries, and training can be done on demand. SurgeonsLab has also identified the feasibility of personalized surgery training, which must be commercially launched and certified.

Milestone event on April 4-5th in Bern

The forthcoming Workshop for Intracranial Aneurysm Microsurgery is one of the biggest milestones of the company since its incorporation. A major launch event where 40+ Neurosurgeons and international doctors will gather for a couple of days. The core content of the event will be training for 10 unique patient cases using the simulator, and they will be having hands-on surgical training on the simulator. Ten Neurosurgical simulators and one endovascular radiology simulator will be used in the workshop. This is the first time ever in the Neurosurgical world that 10 patient cases and such audiences are assembled to discuss the same patient case in parallel and perform surgical training simultaneously. This is a major step towards replacing ex-vivo human specimens and cadavers, and the simulator allows an even more realistic feeling of training in complex brain surgeries. Please follow this link 1 and 2 for more information about the event held at the Kursaal Bern.

Following this event, the organizers (Department of Neurosurgery, Inselspital, Bern) plan to set up a quarterly training workshop with 40 International participants. The CEO expects animal and human specimens to be replaced entirely by SurgeonsLab’s technology, plus added value of realistic simulation training.

Product development and expansion

Speaking of the future, the CEO says Patient-Specific single-patient training and planning with the Neurosurgical and Endovascular simulator will be launched in Q1 2025. The company will also set its next technological focus on microsurgical and interventional simulation training exercises such that they can be part of the curriculum of specialized medical education and training.

SurgeonsLab is expanding its sales to other European countries through its distributors in Italy, Western Europe, and China. The company will also be exhibiting its products at the AANS 2023 (American Association of Neurological Surgeons) annual meeting in Los Angeles, USA, among many other major companies in the Neurosurgical and interventional radiology markets. Following the event, starting from April 2023, SurgeonsLab is commencing its sales operations directly in the top-selected Neurosurgical centres (Barrow Neurological and Phoenix), among which it has been working on pilot projects. Last but not least, beginning Q2 2023 SurgeonsLab will start to perform sales operations in India, with selected hospitals and partner companies like Zeiss Microscope India.

The team is currently fundraising to close the Pre-Series A round of CHF 2M within June 2023 to expand its USA operations, launch the simulators for patient-specific case planning and training, certifications, perform technical and business improvement activities towards validating the simulator as a part of the Neurosurgical curriculum and certifications. Seven people, including a few external freelancers, work for the start-up founded in March 2021. 

(ES)