Less invasive cardiovascular interventional techniques, such as transcatheter placement of endovascular grafts, are increasingly being developed. A large challenge to the adoption of these new procedures is physician training. HT Medical proposes research that will provide an opportunity for training without risk to patients. The goal of this project is to improve clinical outcomes through the development of a """"""""virtual reality"""""""" simulator for endovascular placement of stents, stent grafts, and angioplasty. For Phase I, feasibility will be demonstrated by developing a prototype that focuses on endovascular placement of stent grafts for abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs. The prototype will be evaluated by a panel of physicians who perform this procedure. In Phase II, the visual and tactile enhancements that are necessary for commercialization will be made based on input from this physician panel. The prototype will be advanced to allow the user to perform other endovascular interventions, such as coronary artery stenting. A comprehensive study will be conducted to evaluate the simulator's training efficacy. During Phase III, medical schools, physician training programs, medical device companies, and CME organizations will be targeted. The market base will be expanded by building other medical simulators, using technology developed for this simulator.
Endovascular therapies are one of the fastest growing areas in procedural medicine. The proposed technology will facilitate that growth. The target market includes medical schools, physician training programs, medical device companies, and organizations and hospitals that teach Continuing Medical Education courses. We plan on capturing an even larger market by leveraging the technology developed for this simulator to produce other medical simulators.
