Neurosurgeon’s start-up allows medical learners access to live-streamed surgeries

A downside of watching videos of surgical procedures is not being able to ask questions in real time. A start-up co-founded by a neurosurgeon has overcome that by providing learners with a live-stream of surgeries.The start-up, called Vivo Surgery, began as a way for medical students to learn surgical techniques during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Aleksa Cenic, an associate professor of surgery at McMaster University and Phillip Mohabir, who worked at IMAX for more than a decade, co-developed a web-based platform that live-streams surgeries to medical learners. Read: What’s new in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease?“Having that bird’s eye view from the surgeon, along with multiple camera angles and the ability to ask questions during the surgery—it’s very inspirational,” said Dr. Cenic in a university press release. “More than a dozen McMaster professors of surgery have used Vivo Surgery for training initiatives, both locally and internationally.”The surgeons wear head cameras and narrate the procedures in real time. The co-founders “found a way to incentivize a surgeon to talk through an entire surgery,” Mohabir told Communitech’s April newsletter. Communitech helps entrepreneurs launch tech businesses in the Waterloo region of Ontario. The goal is to inspire more medical learners to consider a career in surgery. A survey of McMaster University undergraduate medical students showed the majority of the 22 who responded were very interested in participating in a surgical live-streaming event, which they considered an adjunct to in-person surgical training opportunities. Surgeons at Hamilton Health Sciences have already used the platform to allow Ukrainian physicians to observe facial reconstruction surgery on a gunshot patient.Dr. Cenic shared the Vivo Surgery platform with McMaster University engineering students, who became interested in designing tools to solve problems they spotted during surgeries. “The great thing about the engineering students is they’re watching surgeries and approaching me with ideas for their own startups,” Dr. Cenic said. “Now they’re designing new tools to solve problems and prevent complications in surgery.” For example, two engineers in the university’s integrated biomedical engineering and health sciences program co-founded Innova Surgica after watching a spinal surgery using the Vivo Surgery platform. They are developing a tool that aims to prevent tears in the dura during spinal surgery.“Being able to ask questions while watching made the experience even more powerful. It gave us a clear view of both the procedure and the challenges surgeons face in real time,” said Yazdaan Ahmad, who co-founded Innova Surgica with Dr. Cenic and fellow student Manvir Bhangu. The company is supported through a McMaster University program to help students and alumni start businesses. To start Vivo Surgery, Dr. Cenic and Mohair received grants from the Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical and Health Innovation Ecosystem (SOPHIE), and from Hamilton Health Sciences’ DRIVE SPARK funding initiative. They also signed a sales agreement with McMaster University.

Neurosurgeon’s start-up allows medical learners access to live-streamed surgeries

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