February 15, 2018 — The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $2.2 million research grant to healthcare technology company SentiAR Inc. to advance its work to design augmented reality (AR) software to improve visualization in cardiac surgeries and other interventional procedures. The grant was awarded following peer review by a panel of cardiologists, engineers and other experts.
SentiAR will receive $2.2 million of non-dilutive milestone installments to advance its platform. Using the SentiAR technology, through the Microsoft heads-up display, physicians can view, measure and manipulate real-time holographic images of the patient’s heart during medical procedures – while still being able to clearly see the operating room environment – giving physicians complete, real-time, visual control of both the virtual and real worlds. Using real-time navigation data feeds rather than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT), the SentiAR intraprocedural solution provides clinicians with patient-specific anatomy in a holographic display, including catheter movement, in full control of the proceduralist. The software is aimed at reducing operating time and radiation exposure to clinicians, and potentially improving outcomes for patients. In-human engineering testing began in summer 2017.
“Our goal is to provide physicians who perform cardiac ablation procedures with a patient-specific hologram of the heart and the instruments that they are using inside of it,” said Jennifer Silva, M.D., SentiAR chief medical officer. “By improving the visualization of this information and empowering the physician with direct control of the model, we will make these procedures both simpler and safer. ”
The grant-funded project period is now underway, supervised by Principal Investigator Walter Blume. The company is targeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submission later in 2018.
For more information: www.sentiar.com
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