SieVRt is first VR radiology platform approved by Health Canada for diagnostic work
The Canadian company, Luxsonic’s SieVRt, an all-in-one Virtual Reality (VR) radiology suite, has received approval by Health Canada as a Class 2 Medical Device for use in diagnostic radiology. It is the first time that a VR software platform of this kind has been approved as a Class 2 Medical Device by a national regulatory agency.
SieVRt gives radiologists the freedom to work anywhere, anytime, at a fraction of the cost. The software, which can be operated with a VR headset (like Oculus), provides students, trainees and physicians with advanced medical imaging visualization tools in a convenient, low-cost package.
“Radiologists can’t easily work remotely like many people did during Covid-19. They have a very specialized and expensive workflow that requires them to work exclusively in their office,” said Mike Wesolowski, Ph.D., Luxsonic CEO and Co-Founder. “Now that Health Canada has approved SieVRt, radiologists will be able to take their own personalized virtual office with them wherever they go. With SieVRt and a portable VR headset they have all of the tools they need to remotely diagnose patients.”
Three modules, which don’t require federal government regulatory approval are currently available on the SieVRt platform in North America: 1) Basic, 2) Education, and 3) Collaboration. Now that the Diagnostic module has been approved, it will be launched in Canada later this year. In the United States, Luxsonic expects FDA approval for SieVRt in early 2022. The software is currently being trialled at Massachusetts General Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and McMaster University.
In addition to helping radiologists in North America to diagnose patients from anywhere, SieVRt has larger applications for more than half the world’s population that does not have access to basic radiology services.
“This is just as significant an issue in remote and rural America as it is in Africa,” said Wesolowski. “Without access to radiology services, this means that expectant mothers aren’t able to effectively monitor their pregnancies, trauma often goes undiagnosed and untreated, and infectious diseases are often misdiagnosed or missed entirely.”
SieVRt is set to improve access to radiology services by improving radiologists’ access to their workflow and allow doctors to work collaboratively and remotely to help meet the large need for basic radiology services throughout the world.
