Three Health Innovators Using Augmented and Virtual Reality to Improve Quality of Life
From enhancing eyesight to assessing brain trauma, these entrepreneurs are finding uses for VR/AR technology that go way beyond entertainment.
Back in the late 60s, computer scientist Ivan Sutherland and his student Bob Sproull created the first augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) head mounted display. They named it ‘Sword of Damocles,’ and appropriately so. The clunky contraption hung over the user’s head, suspended from the ceiling just like the ominous sword in the ancient Greek tale.
AR/VR has come a long way since. These days, it’s ubiquitous, as accessible as a smartphone. We use AR to plan our furniture layouts, experiment with new makeup looks, simulate severe weather effects, and of course — to spot Caterpies, Pidgies and other Pokemon varieties on our walk to work. And when it comes to VR, headsets like Facebook’s Oculus Rift can be found in the electronics section of your local Walmart. While known to the masses for their gaming and simulation applications, in the past twenty years, these devices have gained traction in another space: health and wellness. AR/VR supports management of phantom limb pain, brain damage assessment and rehabilitation, and more recently, is used to help surgeons who need increased visibility of the surgical field.
Meet three inventive entrepreneurs at the intersection of health and AR/VR who have discovered new applications of the tech and are changing people’s lives as a result.
Dr. Jamshid Ghajar | Founder of SyncThink
Dr. Jamshid Ghajar, Laura Yecies and Doug Appleton — founder, CEO and SVP respectively of SyncThink — are on a mission to eliminate undiagnosed concussions and brain conditions. One in four Americans suffer from a brain health condition, yet Yecies and Appleton say there is a lack of objective measurements for brain health — current tests are highly subjective — and convenient, scalable therapeutic modalities. For sports medicine clinicians, neurologists, athletes and patients who need objective metrics for brain health and proven methods to optimize performance, SyncThink is a VR-based eye tracking platform that utilizes a 60-second assessment to determine brain health and improve brain performance. The assessment evaluates ocular motor impairments and vestibular balance dysfunction — the two most common and serious components of concussion — and processes eye-tracking analytics that give medical professionals objective measures for visual attention, dynamic orientation. Current partners include, The Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks & Washington Wizards, Pac-12, University of Georgia, and the University of Texas. Leading clinics such as Mass General, DC Children’s and Stanford have also adopted the platform.
Email Dr. Jamshid Ghajar at syncthink@startuphealth.com.
Mark Greget | Founder & CEO of NuEyes
Since 2011, Greget has been changing the lives of visually impaired patients through this novel approach: layering camera systems atop an IoT device and augmented reality headsets. At NuEyes, he is on a moonshot mission to provide great vision where it’s needed most. For patients that suffer from visual impairments like macular degeneration and glaucoma, Greget has developed a pair of glasses that allows someone to see their loved ones faces again, go to sporting events, read, watch the grandkids play in the backyard, go back to work, as well as hundreds of other quality of life tasks. His startup has commercialized two products in the healthcare space for visually impaired patients, with the latest product — E2 — released in March. Now, Greget has his sights set on modernizing the antiquated loupes used by surgeons, dentists, and battlefield medics to perform procedures. For surgeons who need increased magnification and visibility of the surgical field, his product NuLoupes works by streaming a live 3D stereoscopic image from the onboard camera to computer screens displayed in front of the users eyes. The camera can magnify and focus its image by the operators voice commands.
Message Mark on StartUp Health HQ or email nueyes@startuphealth.com.
Thomas Overly, LMSW | Co-founder & CEO of Promena VR
Overly is creating software to heal, educate, and empower individuals, particularly those in vulnerable and underserved populations. His company, Promena VRfuses science, technology, and storytelling to create customized VR software solutions for academia, industry, and communities. The virtual reality scenarios and interactions created by the platform are capable of transporting individuals from clinical settings to places that would otherwise be impossible to recreate. Most organizations and clinicians do not have the means to create customized software solutions for the populations and individuals they are working with. Promena VR has refined the development process, enabling the company to rapidly produce original content to meet the diverse needs of clients.
Message Thomas Overly on StartUp Health HQ or email promenavr@startuphealth.com.
Learn more about StartUp Health Moonshot Academy and our Access to Care and Brain Health Moonshots.
Sign up for StartUp Health Insider to receive industry news, funding insights, special access to events, and more delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.
