Project description
Brain box revolutionises neurosurgical education
Virtual reality has entered the realm of medicine as a training tool. Neurosurgery training is no exception. It will be going hybrid, modular and virtual. This is the idea behind UpSim, a hybrid simulation system. Developed by the EU-funded UpSurgeOn Academy project, this is the first life-like neurosurgical simulator to train neurosurgeons. Made by neurosurgeons for neurosurgeons, the simulation platform includes a complete toolkit of Apps that let neurosurgery students study all types of procedures. It also benefits from 3D modelling and the closest-to-reality existent experience with a physical device replicating an actual human brain (called the Brain Box) that the user can practice on. UpSim is affordable and designed for medical students, neurosurgery residents and advanced surgeons.
Objective
Neurosurgery training is one of the most long-lasting and expensive of all medical disciplines. Learning programs average 15 years and tuition fees can reach up to €60,000 per year. Even in the countries where public education reigns, hospitals need to bear a high cost per resident which can go up to €1 million. For this reason, there is a shortfall of 23,000 neurosurgeons in low and middle-income countries, and 5 million unattended neurosurgical cases that go unmet each year worldwide. Furthermore, cases of malpractice in neurosurgery are on the rise (by 25% since the 90s): 3.4% neurosurgeons face malpractice claims every year, and 19% any type of claim, rising the indemnity payment up to €278,000 per physician. UpSurgeOn Academy aims at answering to these problems as it is the first hybrid simulation platform which integrates digital and physical tools for neurosurgery training. It includes a complete toolkit of Apps for letting neurosurgery students study all types of procedures, benefits from the closest-to-reality existent experience with a physical device replicating an actual human brain in size, precision and texture (the Brainbox) and then practise through the use of Augmented Reality (AR). Its low price makes it utterly affordable for its identified and verified key target customer: medical students, neurosurgery residents and advanced surgeons, thus i) enabling neurosurgery students to enhance their academic curriculum before they become residents; ii) bringing reliable simulation to neurosurgery, as it is one of the areas of medicine which need most; iii) reducing the number of malpractice cases by introducing better resources in neurosurgery education programs that boost professionals’ skills; iv) increasing the number of neurosurgeons, especially in low and middle-income countries.
With this project, our company aims to acheive €15,4M in revenues, with a cumulated EBITDA of €5.2M and a ROI of 3.3 in the 5 years following the completion of Phase 2.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
20057 Assago Mi
Italy
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.