From Gamers to Surgeons: How Extended Reality is Transforming Healthcare
Gaming-inspired headsets are entering the medical field – reshaping the way doctors train and operate.
- Surgeons are using mixed reality to train and perform operations with greater precision.
It’s January 2024, inside an operating room at the renowned Mayo Clinic. A shoulder replacement surgery is underway. But Dr. Joaquin Sanchez-Sotelo has help – he’s receiving real-time guidance directly in his line of sight, via a mixed-reality headset. Spatial tracking tools fixed to his surgical instruments are captured by cameras on his headset, which check if the implant has been put exactly in the right place.
The breakthrough surgery showcases how extended reality (XR) technologies, ranging from virtual reality (VR) to mixed reality, which blends real-world and digital elements, are set to transform healthcare. Devices first invented for gaming are now being used by doctors to perform and teach operations and reduce medical costs.
“Extended reality should be on every hospital’s digital health roadmap. It is already proven to strengthen clinician training, support procedures, and improve patient experiences and outcomes,” says Kate Donovan, clinical director of innovation at Boston Children’s Hospital. “We are only beginning to see its full potential.”
The sector is growing rapidly. The global VR healthcare market is forecast to expand more than fivefold to $29.4bn by 2030 from $5.6bn today, according to Grand View Research. Digitized medical education alone could be worth $11bn by 2032, with trainees from California to Hong Kong already relying on XR to improve their skills.
Flight Simulation for Medics
Surgical training has long relied on cadavers, which are expensive (as much as $10,000) and limited in supply. Surgeons may practice just once or twice on a human body before doing the real thing. But VR offers the equivalent of a flight simulation for medics, allowing them to train virtually before they step into the operating room. This is especially helpful for highly complex surgeries and remote medical schools. Studies show that those trained using VR perform surgeries up to 43 percent faster than those trained without.
“The use of XR to support medical education and the transfer of skills has been growing over the last decade,” says Drew Burdon, a partner on the life sciences team at EQT. “This adoption will continue with more and more companies seeing the value of offering this training modality to their customers.”
The question is how long it could take to play a more prominent role. Burdon predicts that within five to 10 years, most medical device corporations will be using XR to deliver medical education and train physicians on increasingly complex surgical procedures.
A Forrester study on behalf of Meta echoes that forecast, finding that more than two-thirds of healthcare decision-makers plan to expand the use of VR in the next two years.
One company that has developed this technology is London-based FundamentalXR, backed by EQT. Its software allows trainees to practice fully simulated surgeries – complete with haptic feedback to mimic the feel of real tissue and bone. Bespoke simulations mean trainees can efficiently rehearse high-stakes procedures in areas including ophthalmology, robotics, orthopedics, cardiovascular surgery and urology.
Companies including Osso VR, which has raised more than $100m over multiple years, and Oxford Medical Simulation, which closed a $12.6m round in 2024, are also racing to digitize surgical training.
Source: Grand View Research, Forrester/Meta, Journal of Surgical Research
Burdon, who has been on Fundamental’s board since leading its $20m financing round in 2022, says companies will need to ensure that the technology is affordable for hospitals and other clients. He expects the winners will be software-first companies that can plug into any headset, including Microsoft’s HoloLens and Apple’s Vision Pro (retailing at over $3,000), rather than selling individually-coded hardware.
Companies can also distinguish themselves by offering tactile feedback that feels real. Without haptics, Donovan says, XR training can only go so far.
“We’ll have to say to our team, ‘Oh, pretend like that works. Pretend this is here,’” she says. “That breaks that suspension of disbelief.”
Next frontier
The next frontier is taking VR inside the operating room.
It’s still nascent, but surgeons around the world, led by Mayo’s Sanchez-Sotelo and others, are keen to explore the potential. In late 2024, doctors in Glasgow performed the first operation in the U.K. using mixed reality to “see inside” a patient’s body during surgery. In California, surgeons have clocked up dozens of minimally invasive operations wearing Apple headsets, while in Alabama, XR is assisting with hip replacements.
Extended reality could improve surgical precision and reduce errors. A review of six studies assessing the use of mixed reality in the operating room confirmed “it can yield remarkable results” but highlighted the technology’s complexity and steep learning curve. Startups must demonstrate results that are significant enough to justify the cost.
“We’ve kind of gone in hills and valleys with adoption,” Donovan says.
One startup navigating these complexities is Hong Kong-based Syngular Technology, which received a €100,000 grant from EQT’s philanthropic arm in July. Founder Louis Sze, a former biomedical engineer, says focusing on such a complicated area was intentional. “We targeted the most challenging and premium market.”
The company’s mixed-reality platform is built to guide orthopedic surgeons in real-time. Instead of relying on 2D scans and memory, doctors can use headsets to project an interactive 3D hologram of the patient’s joints – a precise digital twin – onto their real-world view. Hong Kong hospitals have performed over 70 operations using Syngular’s technology and report a 25 percent decline in average operation time, Sze says.
Finding Champions
With AI, headsets could also help flag issues during a procedure, or even provide real-time, step-by-step prompts. “I see that getting really good in five years,” he says.
However, to be accepted en masse by medical professionals, startups need solid evidence that their immersive technologies can deliver, says Donovan of Boston Children’s. Companies also need advocates within hospitals who can drive adoption. This is where Burdon says investors can step in, by leveraging their broad networks and helping companies demonstrate the value of the technology.
“The world is going to be a better and safer place if companies developing immersive technologies succeed,” he says.
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