Level EX, a technology company that is bringing state-of-the-art visual effects from the video game industry to the field of medicine, announced their official launch.
Level EX has built the first ultra-realistic, 3D virtual surgery mobile application for physicians to hone their skills in minimally invasive surgical procedures. The company has united award-winning game developers with expert surgeons from leading academic hospitals to create mobile apps that feature challenging and rare patient cases that physicians can explore in a responsive and realistic environment.
Level EX’s first mobile application gives physicians the opportunity to tackle difficult airway cases that they encounter in their day-to-day practice of medicine. Airway EX is designed for anesthesiologists, otolaryngologists, critical care specialists, emergency medicine physicians and pulmonologists. The free app is available in beta for iOS from the App Store and for Android™ from Google Play™ .
“Despite growing up in a family of physicians, I chose a career in video games. When I saw the simulation technology currently employed for surgical training, it became abundantly clear that the video game industry is at least a decade ahead of medical simulation when it comes to technology, distribution and business models,” said Sam Glassenberg, CEO and Founder of Level EX. “Level EX was created to close that gap and arm physicians with a new approach to learning without the use of an academic sim center. Our success means the proliferation of best practices among an ecosystem of more confident doctors, who are better-prepared for the rare and unexpected that arise in surgery.”
Level EX’s technology offers unprecedented realism, enabled by the accurate simulation of human tissue dynamics, endoscopic device optics and moving fluids to recreate life-like surgeries. Virtual patient cases are modeled from actual surgeries submitted by physicians. Each case is vetted by physician experts with medical simulation training experience from the top academic hospitals in the United States. The Airway EX app provides a new modality for continuing medical education offering AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits for completing virtual procedures.
“There are only so many hours for training and perfecting your skills outside of seeing patients,” said Errol Gordon, MD, Director, Neuro ICU, The Mount Sinai Hospital. “Level EX addresses roadblocks that hold physicians back by offering an easy-to-use, realistic mobile application that provides them with an edge in learning procedures through detailed patient scenarios. The use of the application enables physicians at all levels to maximize learning and improve surgical outcomes.”
Level EX founder Sam Glassenberg led the Emmy Award-winning DirectX team that developed the graphics technology behind Microsoft’s video game consoles and gaming applications. Prior to Level EX, Sam was CEO of the leading independent game publisher in Hollywood, creating award-winning mobile games based on popular films. The idea for Level EX arose after Sam created a prototype virtual surgery airway app that rallied an audience of more than 100,000 users.
Physicians can also sign up (or sign in) to Airway EX using their Doximity login. In 2017, Level EX will continue to roll out mobile applications in numerous specialty areas, including gastroenterology, cardiology, and orthopedic surgery.
