Avatar Medical™ announces its partnership with Institut Pasteur and Institut Curie to develop a collaborative Virtual Reality assistant for surgeons. With AVATAR MEDICAL™, breast surgeons and radiologists can benefit from enhanced image interpretation and improved pre-operative surgical planning.

The occurrence of misinterpretation can be a limiting factor in the effectiveness of standard MRI Images. Avatar Medical™ converts medical images in real-time into 3D avatars that can be viewed on a workstation and in a virtual reality headset.

In 2015 (??), the Bayesian Decision and Processes laboratory at the Institut Pasteur, directed by Jean-Baptiste Masson, and the Physico-Chemistry Curie research unit at the Institut Curie, directed by the late Maxime Dahan, joined forces via a joint thesis project led by Mohamed El Beheiry, to develop powerful and robust algorithms for visualizing and analyzing medical images of heterogeneous nature and complexity.

Quickly, the tools aroused the interest of health professionals from the Curie Institute Hospital and the Necker Enfants Malades Hospital as they were looking for innovative solutions to analyze medical images. Both hospitals launched retrospective studies, respectively in oncology and for the preparation of certain pediatric surgeries.

The Institut Pasteur, the Institut Curie, and Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) recognized the interest of the project by supporting the acceleration of its development. Several opinion leaders inside and outside these Institutes have also joined the project (link to Ambassador) that led to the creation of AVATAR MEDICAL™ in July 2020 and the obtention of the prestigious i-LAB award.

“Avatar Medical™ improves and facilitates the interpretation of MRI’s complex imaging system. It allows us to easily find the right sequence and identify breast tumors: locations, quantity, size, and we would not have that ease of use with a normal interface. Once we view the images with a virtual reality headset, we can see with great precision the extension of the lesion and remember with great accuracy the image visualized in three dimensions. During the surgery, this solution allows the surgeon to perfectly re-identify the location of the tumor,” explains Pr Fabien Reyal, head of breast cancer, gynecologic cancer, and reconstructive surgery at Institut Curie.

Avatar Medical™ technology opens doors that are essential in terms of patient care, education, and research.

About Institut Pasteur:

Institut Pasteur founded in 1887 in Paris, France, is a private, non-profit foundation. Its mission is to help prevent and treat diseases, mainly those of infectious origin, through research, teaching, and public health initiatives.

About Institut Curie:

Institut Curie founded in 1920 in Paris, France, is a private, non-profit foundation. It is one of the leading medical, biological, and biophysical research centers in the world focused on biophysics, cell biology, and oncology. It also has a hospital specialized in the treatment of cancer.

About Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL):

Paris Sciences et Lettres ( simply PSL), established in 2010 is a French public university.  Its ambition is to make an impact on current and future society, in part by using its research to propose solutions to issues facing the world today. Its mission is to form minds as well as citizens.