Newswise — San Francisco, CA – Ceevra, Inc. today announced the publication of a study assessing the impact of using Ceevra’s 3D virtual reality models to plan for operations to remove kidney tumors. The study results, published in JAMA Network Open, showed substantial reductions in operating time, blood loss, ischemia time, and duration of hospital stay when the Ceevra models were used. 

“When deciding whether to adopt a new technology, surgeons want to know if it will actually improve patient outcomes,” said Russ Yoshinaka, Ceevra’s chief executive officer. “The gold standard to assess this is a multi-institution randomized clinical trial, and the results of this trial show that using Ceevra’s technology does meaningfully improve outcomes for patients undergoing this type of operation.”

The study included surgeons from six large teaching hospitals: Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Tennessee, John Wayne Cancer Institute and Swedish Medical Center. Forty-eight patients were randomly assigned to the control group, in which the surgeon used only the patient’s CT or MRI to plan the operation. Forty-four patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group, in which the surgeon used both the CT/MRI and the Ceevra 3D virtual reality model. The Ceevra models were reviewed by the surgeons from their mobile phones and through a virtual reality headset.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that patients undergoing surgery in which the Ceevra model was used benefitted from substantial reductions in operating time, blood loss, ischemia time, and duration of hospital stay. As part of the study, the researchers also analyzed the effect of using Ceevra’s 3D VR models according to the difficulty level of the operation, known as nephrometry score. Results showed that both medium and high nephrometry score cases saw substantial benefits from using the 3D VR models. 

"The Ceevra models, especially when viewed in VR, provide a level of detail and 3D understanding that you just can’t get from CT scans," said Dr. James Porter, one of the study's principal investigators. "We’ve found that these benefits do indeed translate to more efficient operations and speedier recoveries." 

About Ceevra, Inc.

Ceevra is a San Francisco-based healthcare technology company. Our cloud software platform converts existing CT scans and MRIs into brilliant, interactive digital 3D models which surgeons view from their own smartphones and, optionally, through an inexpensive VR headset. Ceevra is FDA 510(k) cleared for both preoperative and intraoperative use, and is currently optimized for surgical oncology in kidney, prostate, liver and lung with more to follow. For more information, visit www.ceevra.com.

Journal Link: JAMA Network Open