Metaverse startup’s tool points to future of surgeries

Chairman of Sunrise Hospitals in Kerala, Dr Hafeez Rahman, has built a global reputation as an expert in robotic surgery and provides guidance to doctors both in India and abroad. His skills are in constant demand, particularly for laparoscopic procedures, where the surgeon conducts the operation by inserting a camera and surgical instruments through a thin tube. These procedures offer many advantages, such as smaller incisions, less pain, and faster healing.

With demand for his expertise rising and Sunrise Hospital units located across Kerala, Dr Rahman found it increasingly difficult to meet the demand for his attention from different hospitals. It was then that he turned to virtual and augmented reality startup XR Horizon for a solution.

Founded in 2021 by Densil Antony, Mohamed Faris Arimbra, and Arun MV – who had previously worked on augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) graphic production – XR Horizon had quickly gained recognition in the field. Their products have been used across sectors such as education, media, and construction, in addition to providing training for young technicians.

“Dr Hafeez’s requirement was simple. He wanted a solution that would help him monitor a surgery taking place at the Kozhikode hospital while attending his duties at the Kochi hospital,” says Densil.

Versatile Solutions

As both Densil and Faris had worked with Manorama News television channel for years, they were familiar with the integration of extended reality (XR) during live telecasts. Their team took up the challenge to meet the expert surgeon’s request.

During discussions, they also realised that surgeons performing robotic surgeries often suffer neck strain, as they have to constantly monitor screens, which are usually placed at awkward angles or even on walls, as the patient is surrounded by medical staff. Since surgeries can last four to five hours, or even longer, surgeons often strain their necks to keep an eye on the screen, leading to neck pain later.

“Our idea was to provide a headset that enables the wearer to see both the surroundings and virtual screens while carrying out the surgery,” says Densil. “Not only that, as the virtual screens are interactive, the user can move their position, enlarge or minimise them with their fingers, and swipe them to the side when not needed. This way, a surgeon performing surgery can consult scan reports and access key data, like live monitoring of vital signs, with minimal physical effort.”

Another major advantage is that experts who are not in the operating theatre can receive the feed and virtually join the surgery to provide input.

The tool has been tested at Sunrise Hospitals and Aster MIMS in Kozhikode, while Believers Hospital in Thiruvalla has expressed interest in adopting it. Once the test results are validated and the necessary certifications obtained, XR Vision plans to formally launch it in the market. They are continuing to refine the software and looking to provide lighter headsets for users.

More Advantages

XR Horizon says that the product can also be used to plan surgeries, allowing team members in different locations to join the session. They can use a model of the organ and conduct detailed planning on how the surgery should be performed.

An obvious advantage that such an application can offer is in medical education. Since the feed generated by the device can be shared, medical students can watch procedures live from their classrooms. The XR Horizon application currently accommodates up to 20 students, but the company says it can be scaled up if more resources become available.

Another notable project completed by XR Horizon is in the construction sector. They created digital twins of different apartments for a prominent builder’s upcoming project. Densil says this can be further enhanced by adding a paint and tile catalogue option. This would enable a prospective client to experiment with various colours on the walls and different tiles in the digital twin version, helping them decide which to choose. Talks have been initiated with a paint company to utilise this technology.

Densil believes that metaverse models will see increased use in the years ahead. “Today, every company has a website. In the future, everyone will have a metaverse space to showcase models of their products and facilities. A university currently shows a few photos of their campus on their website. Soon, they will offer a virtual tour of their campus through VR.”

Fast Changes

The startup founders say they had not anticipated the rapid developments in the sector. When Densil and Faris were working at Manorama, they began using AR/VR technology in 2014. After the media house sent Densil to New Delhi for further training, they expanded its use.

In 2016, when the assembly polls were held, the graphics team helped create a full virtual studio and produced nine live shows from it. “Even the technology company was nervous about going live, but we managed to do it,” says Densil.

When Densil and Faris decided to branch out on their own, their friend Arun MV, who was working for Gurgaon-based graphic company Wasp 3D, also chose to join them. Their initial goal was to provide AR/VR tools for television stations. It wasn’t an easy start, and Faris says leaving a steady, well-paying job was itself a tough decision.

“Some of my family members couldn’t understand why I was quitting a good job to start a risky venture. They continued to tell everyone I was still working for Manorama months after I had quit,” says Faris.

But the co-founders say they avoided the usual financial woes that stymie startups, as they managed to generate reasonable revenue through various services. “We should also thank Kerala Startup Mission, as their grants and seed loans helped us a lot,” says Densil.

The XR Horizon founders now feel they have stabilised their operations, having hit an annual revenue of 1.5 crore rupees in the last financial year. The company has remained bootstrapped until now, but with more complex products in the works, the startup, which now employs 31 people, feels it is time to seek investors.

China tech continues its march

China has been beaming with pride ever since DeepSeek shook up the AI scene, and the record-breaking performance of the animated movie Ne Zha 2 has only added fuel to their claims of surpassing the US in technology. The blockbuster animation is now the 7th highest-grossing movie of all time, with a box office collection of 1.90 billion US dollars. As What’s on Weibo reports, there is a collective online celebration surrounding the film. The movie, which took five years to complete and reportedly involved 140 animation studios and over 4,000 staff members, has become the most successful animated film worldwide. Fans now claim that Chinese animation technology is far ahead of the US, and praise the use of local stories as a global shift away from Western themes.

Though it went largely unnoticed, the success late last year of a new lung cancer drug by a small Chinese firm, Akeso, created a sensation in the global biotech sector after it outperformed a drug made by American giant Merck. According to a research note published recently by HSBC Qianhai Securities, China is becoming an innovation hub for the entire industry, reports CNN. These successive triumphs across different sectors have bolstered claims that China is now the world leader in technology and research. Meanwhile, India has been pushing for more developments in both animation and biotechnology, but there is still little to show for it.

An era ends with Skype

The end of Skype serves as a reminder of how fleeting the impact of new technology can be. The messaging and calling platform upended telecommunications when it arrived in the early 2000s, providing an alternative to costly long-distance phone calls. Bought first by eBay and then Microsoft, Skype failed to keep pace with developments and was sidelined by apps like WhatsApp and Zoom. According to Silicon Valley-based analyst Om P Malik, the blame for its demise largely rests with Microsoft’s middle management, which was tied to corporate culture and failed to keep up with innovation. He has a point, as Meta and Google now sit on valuable user data – something Skype could have profited immensely now had it maintained its lead position.

A higher calling for AI

While AI and technology have not made much of an impact on religion so far, it is noteworthy that the United Arab Emirates has ventured into this area. Official media there report that the country has allowed the use of AI-powered drones to help spot the crescent moon marking the start of Ramadan. As TechXplore notes, there are very few details on how AI is being used in this particular mission. Still, it is a bold claim, given the conservative stance many countries in the region take when it comes to religion. The UAE is no stranger to such pioneering moves, having become the first country in the world to appoint a Minister of State for AI in 2017.

Fat Finger champions

At TikTalk Newsletter, we are all too familiar with the term “fat finger”, as mistyping has often been our bane. But thank goodness, we're not a bank. One employee at Citigroup accidentally transferred 81 trillion US dollars instead of 280 dollars to an account, and it was a while before the error was detected. Fortunately, the money was safe, but what worries us is how such a massive amount in an account could go undetected for even a few minutes. The amount far exceeds the gross domestic product of every country in the world, including the 29.72 trillion dollar GDP of the US, reports Entrepreneur.com.