Surgical training hasn't changed much over the past 100 years. Doctors in training observe experienced surgeons, then they're given more autonomy until they can perform surgery on their own. But according to Sandra Humbles, Vice President of Global Education Solutions for Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, this model is no longer sustainable. "Technology is accelerating the pace of surgical innovation," she says, "and now there's more for a surgeon to learn than ever before."
Justin Barad, MD, agrees. An orthopaedic surgeon and software developer, he founded Osso VR after years of frustration in operating rooms. "There were always new medical devices, but we would literally be Googling how to use them while the patient was on the table," he says. "Learning curve data shows that you have to perform a new procedure 100 times to be proficient. So we often didn't use the new devices for safety reasons – we didn't have time to learn everything well enough."