Simbionix

Simbionix is a line of surgical simulators that are used in medical schools to simulate surgical procedures.^[1]

Founding

Simbionix was founded in 1997 by Edna Chosack and David Barkay, that were joined by Ran Bronstein in 1998 ^[2] with research and development based out of Israel.^[3] Today Simbionix is the name of a medical and surgical training simulation product line.^[4]

Simulators

The company creates 3D virtual reality surgical simulators and medical education resources, used by medical students to learn how to perform medical procedures and surgeries.^[5] One of its first simulators was the GI Mentor for upper and lower gastroenterology procedures.^[6] In 2013 they released the ANGIO Mentor Suite for endovascular training.^[7] As of 2014 the company has designed simulators for sixty different interventional procedures within eight surgical specialties, on sixteen simulation platforms.^[8] That year the company released its Simbionix RobotiX Mentor for training on robotic surgery.^[9] In 2017 the company released its SPINE Mentor to help learners master minimally invasive spine surgery.^[10]

In 2014 Simbionix was acquired for $120 million by 3D Systems, a NYSE traded company,^[11][12] which continues to sell the Simbionix simulators.^[13] The simulators are updated over time to keep pace with changes in the medical industry.^[14] Simulations provide real-time feedback for the trainees.^[15] About three thousand simulators are in use globally.^[2]