Staff at Augmedics, an augmented reality surgical image guidance startup, led a Series B funding round that raised $15 million to launch the company as venture capital dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Six things to know:
1. Augmedics' U.S. employees formed AUG Management to raise $4 million for the company. Shareholders, AO Invest and Terralab Ventures invested $3.2, with undisclosed investors converting the remaining $7.8 million SAFE notes.
2. In December, Augmedics received FDA clearance for its xvision Spine System, reportedly the first AR guidance system to be used in spine surgery.
3. The system enables surgeons to visualize the 3D spinal anatomy intraoperatively, so they can navigate instruments and implants while looking at the patient instead of a remote screen.
4. Three neurosurgeons from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore recently performed the first spinal fusion on a living patient using the AR system.
5. Interest in AR has grown significantly in spine over the past decade, stemming from a desire to limit complications associated with instrumented spine surgery and improving procedural efficiency.
6. Augmedics plans to research additional surgical applications for xvision.