Simbionix is a line of
surgical simulators that are used in medical schools to simulate surgical procedures.
Founding
Simbionix was founded in 1997 by Edna Chosack and David Barkay, that were joined by Ran Bronstein in 1998
with research and development based out of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Today Simbionix is the name of a medical and surgical training simulation product line.
Simulators
The company creates 3D virtual reality surgical simulators and medical education resources, used by medical students to learn how to perform medical procedures and surgeries. One of its first simulators was the GI Mentor for upper and lower
gastroenterology
Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...
procedures. In 2013 they released the ANGIO Mentor Suite for
endovascular
Interventional radiology (IR) is a medical specialty that performs various minimally-invasive procedures using medical imaging guidance, such as x-ray fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or ultrasound. IR performs bot ...
training.
As of 2014 the company has designed simulators for sixty different interventional procedures within eight surgical specialties, on sixteen simulation platforms.
That year the company released its Simbionix RobotiX Mentor for training on robotic surgery. In 2017 the company released its SPINE Mentor to help learners master
minimally invasive
Minimally invasive procedures (also known as minimally invasive surgeries) encompass surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed, thereby reducing wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Surgery by definitio ...
spine surgery.
In 2014 Simbionix was acquired for $120 million by
3D Systems, a
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
traded company, which continues to sell the Simbionix simulators. The simulators are updated over time to keep pace with changes in the medical industry. Simulations provide real-time feedback for the trainees.
About three thousand simulators are in use globally.
References
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Medical simulation