Publications and Case Reports

The study conducted at the CUNY (City University of New York) School of Medicine evaluates the efficacy of Avatar Medical’s virtual reality (VR) technology in anatomy education by comparing it to traditional methods such as cadaver dissection videos, anatomical models, and lectures. Results of this study demonstrate that VR significantly enhances student engagement, confidence, and satisfaction while providing notable improvements to motivation and overall learning experience. Student motivation was assessed using a revised version of the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (rIMMS), specifically adapted for VR learning. By enabling real-time interaction with 3D anatomical structures, VR offers an immersive and intuitive approach to studying osteology and muscular attachments of the lower limb and pelvis.  

The study further reveals that while both VR and traditional methods contribute to memory retention, VR is most effective as a complementary tool rather than a full replacement. Specifically, students in the traditional learning group with prior anatomy experience demonstrated slightly higher improvements in knowledge scores compared to those using VR alone. This suggests that VR enhances learning outcomes most effectively when integrated alongside established methods, such as cadaver dissection videos and anatomical models. These findings highlight the transformative potential of VR technology, particularly with Avatar Medical, in enriching medical education and supporting the next generation of healthcare professionals.

The study highlights the transformative impact of Avatar Medical’s virtual reality solution on planning surgeries for pelvic bone sarcoma cases. By converting CT and MRI data into real-time 3D models, surgeons can interact with a detailed virtual representation of the tumor and its surrounding anatomy. This approach enhances tumor border delineation, improves grading of adjacent structure involvement, and enables significant adjustments to surgical plans.

With VR, 67% of tumor borders are clearly delineated compared to 0% with traditional 2D viewers, and surgeons indicate they would change their surgical strategy 44% of the time after using our technology. These findings demonstrate how (Avatar Medical) VR technology addresses the challenges of complex pelvic anatomy, increases surgical confidence, and improves communication with patients and colleagues, ultimately leading to better surgical outcomes.

The study aimed to develop an effective method using Avatar Medical to plan and perform virtual cryoablation procedures for treating Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) tumors with minimal damage to nearby organs. The software converted CT scan data into real-time 3D and VR reconstructions, enabling precise probe placement in the patient’s anatomy. By comparing different probe placement approaches, the study found that VR planning allowed for creative and precise strategies. Overall, the research emphasizes the potential of VR technology to enhance minimally invasive procedures for treating renal tumors, ultimately improving patient outcomes and reducing risks.

The study aimed to simplify the clinical use of 3D reconstruction and VR systems by validating the DIVA software. Five inexperienced users were instructed to create 3D models of patients’ hearts with right partial anomalous pulmonary venous return using the software. Their results were compared with a benchmark reconstruction by an experienced user. The participants successfully recreated 3D models in a relatively short time, maintaining good overall quality. As they gained experience, there was a statistical improvement in the quality and time taken to create the models. The DIVA software proved to be a simple and effective tool for accurate 3D reconstruction, even for inexperienced users.

Breast surgery is performed to achieve local control in patients with breast cancer. Visualization of the anatomy with a virtual reality software platform reconstructed from magnetic resonance imaging data improves surgical planning with regards to volume and localization of the tumor, lymph nodes, blood vessels, and surrounding tissue to perform oncoplastic tissue rearrangement. We report the use and advantages of virtual reality added to the magnetic resonance imaging assessment in a 36-year-old woman with breast cancer who underwent nipple sparing mastectomy with tissue expander reconstruction.

The three cases are real-life examples of using  Avatar Medical for breast cancer surgery treatment: evaluation of the tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, decision for breast conservative or radical treatment, decision for loco-regional treatment in metastatic setting. Through these three real-life cases, we describe the potential impact of Avatar Medical use in clinical daily practice in breast cancer surgery. It seems like a useful tool, easy to use, providing high-quality images, helping with surgery planning and decisions.

The treatment of breast cancer, the leading cause of cancer and cancer mortality among women worldwide, is mainly on the basis of surgery. In this study, we describe the use of a medical image visualization tool on the basis of virtual reality (VR), entitled DIVA, in the context of breast cancer tumor localization among surgeons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the speed and accuracy of surgeons using DIVA for medical image analysis of breast magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans relative to standard image slice-based visualization tools.

Oncoplastic surgery allows an increase in the number of indications for conservative breast cancer treatments. However, uncertainty as to whether it can be performed still exists in certain situations such as with multicentric or multifocal lesions, even when the breast volume can accommodate it. With the aid of a virtual reality software, DIVA, allowing the precise visualisation of tumours and breast volumes based entirely on the patient’s MRI, we report the ability to rapidly confirm and secure an indication for partial surgery of multiple lesions in a 31-year-old patient. With the described approach, the patient did not have to suffer significant disfigurement from cancerous breast surgery without compromising safety.

We sought to evaluate the appropriateness of cardiac anatomy renderings by a new virtual reality (VR) technology, entitled DIVA, directly applicable to raw MRI imaging data without intermediate segmentation steps in comparison to standard 3D rendering techniques (3D PDF and 3D printing). Differences in post processing times were also evaluated.

Craniofacial fracture management is challenging to teach due to the complex anatomy of the skull, even when using three-dimensional (3D) CT-scan images. DIVA is a software allowing the straightforward visualization of CT-scans in a user-friendly 3D virtual reality (VR) environment. Here, we assess DIVA as an educational tool for craniofacial trauma for undergraduate medical students.

Video Credit: AP-HP, Descartes University.

Ischiopagus twins share parts of the spine, central nervous system, gastrointestinal and genitou-rinary tracts with various degrees of severity. Their separation is a surgical challenge. From the perspective of the plastic surgeon, one of the straightforward technical problems of conjoined twin separation is the coverage of the large residual parietal defects determined by the initial skin incisions.

This report provides a description of relevant incision design strategies for ischiopagus separation in order to minimize morbidity related to coverage issues, especially in the abdominal and perineal regions.