CHICAGO – December 22, 2023 – Augmedics, a pioneer in augmented reality (AR) surgical navigation, today announced a record-setting 5,000 patients treated with its xvision Spine System®. Both the first AR navigation system to gain FDA approval for surgery and the first to be used in surgery in the United States, xvision’s 5,000 patient milestone marks another first for the company and signals Augmedics’ continued leadership in the rapidly growing field of AR surgery.
The news comes at the tail-end of a momentous year for Augmedics, which saw the launch of its first artificial intelligence (AI) application, the strengthening of its IP portfolio with the acquisition of digital health assets from Surgalign/Holo Surgical, and a headline-making $82.5 million Series D financing in what has proven one of largest medtech raises of 2023. All the while, the company has continued to drive accelerating adoption for xvision, notching new weekly, monthly, and quarterly records throughout the year.
“In a year of significant news events for Augmedics, we are proudest of our remarkable adoption and utilization metrics from a growing user base that spans the country,” said Augmedics President & CEO Kevin Hykes. “This is irrefutable evidence that our technology is meaningfully impacting the lives of spine patients and the surgeons who treat them.”
“This has absolutely changed my practice”
The record-setting 5,000th case was performed by Dr. Andrew Sama, Co-Chief of Spine and Associate Attending Orthopedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, New York. HSS, the #1 ranked hospital in the US for orthopedics a record 14 years running, began using Augmedics in 2022, becoming the first in New York State to utilize AR navigation for spine surgery.
Sama, who has used legacy navigation systems throughout his career, was intrigued by Augmedics after seeing a demonstration of the technology. But prior experience with legacy navigation had left him with reservations, particularly regarding efficiency and accuracy. Convinced AR navigation had the potential to be “something good,” he began incorporating Augmedics into his practice. A year later, Sama has performed over 100 cases and utilizes Augmedics for nearly all his thoracolumbar procedures.
“As we got over not only my learning curve but the bumps and bruises inherent to learning any new technology, it became easy.” said Sama. “And if it’s easy, and you’re saving time, minimizing xray, and more confident, then it’s a no-brainer. I’ll use it every time.”
Sama said Augmedics has particularly revolutionized his practice for deformity cases, citing a recent elderly patient with osteoporotic bone and severe scoliosis. A surgery that historically would have taken over six hours of OR time was completed in less than three hours using Augmedics, a result he called “game changing.”
“It’s made a huge difference,” said Sama. “As facile as I was doing it freehand, there’s so much more confidence that comes about when you can say with almost 100% certainty where a screw is placed, especially with osteoporotic bone. From the patient standpoint, it’s not just about the accuracy of the screw, it’s about the fact that you know you’ve put it in the best possible trajectory to give it the best pull-out strength possible.”
Concluded Sama, “The fact that it adds value in time savings and accuracy – that’s tremendous.”
About Augmedics
Augmedics pioneers cutting-edge augmented reality technologies to improve surgical outcomes. The company’s revolutionary xvision Spine System® allows surgeons to see patients’ anatomy as if they have “x-ray vision” and accurately navigate instruments and implants during spine procedures. The first-of-its-kind, FDA-cleared xvision has been used to treat over 5,000 patients and implant more than 25,000 pedicle screws across 22 US states. Augmedics has received numerous awards and honors and was recently named a 2023 Chicago Inno Fire Award Blazer Winner, a distinguishment given to just 5 companies changing Chicago’s tech scene for the better.
To learn more or schedule an xvision demo, visit www.augmedics.com.
