Tap Yourself In: The Osso VR Story

In this episode, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Justin Barad and our host Dr. Eric Gantwerker discuss how virtual reality (VR) can address gaps in surgical education and Dr. Barad’s journey of starting Osso VR, a surgical training and assessment platform.

Dr. Barad starts by acknowledging that there is a misconception that VR is trying to replace traditional surgical training. He emphasizes that VR can supplement surgical education because it provides trainees with methods of objective assessment and increased opportunities to practice. In order to encourage adoption of this new technology, Dr. Barad cites the importance of finding common goals for better patient care and showing respect for previous systems of education.

The story of Osso VR started from a recognized need for more breadth and volume of cases in surgical residencies. Dr. Barad highlights the inefficient nature of waiting for random chance to bring different types of cases to arrive in the operating room, as opposed to practicing on a wide variety of cases through VR. He emphasizes that high accessibility of VR is more important than trying to achieve extreme fidelity in replicating surgical instruments.

Finally, we discuss how surgery requires more cognitive skills than ever before, and how VR can help train surgeons to form plans, make decisions, and manage teams.