British startup Touch Surgery has borrowed $70 million to fund its training technology for doctors, according to the Telegraph.

The newspaper reported that Touch Surgery arranged the loan in October last year, after having previously raised $19.5 million from the Silicon Valley venture capital fund 8VC.

WHAT THEY DO 

The company, which was founded by former surgeons Dr Jean Nehme and Dr Andre Chow in 2013, makes apps and augmented reality technology which surgeons can use to practice their skills.

Its technology allows surgeons to watch simulated operations on headsets including Microsoft's HoloLens.

According to its website, Touch Surgery’s platform is “an interactive surgical simulator for healthcare professionals; providing a realistic and detailed guide to every step of a procedure.”

As well as simulating the technical aspect of surgeries, Touch Surgery’s solution simulates the decisions that have to be made in a surgical situation.

Touch Surgery also offers an artificial intelligence (AI) powered surgical video management platform and in-operating room digital solutions for hospitals.

In October last year, the firm announced centre accreditation by the Royal College of Surgeons to award CPD points for cognitive rehearsal and case reflection using its mobile and web platform. 

The company says its mission is to solve the problems of global surgical inequality by using digital technology to enable surgeons to deliver safe surgical care.

WHAT IT’S FOR

The firm has not confirmed what the funds will be used for and at the time of publication had not responded to a request for comment.

MARKET SNAPSHOT 

Teaching is one of the many ways that healthcare companies are utilising VR technology. US company Embodied Labs announced this week that it has raised $3.2 million in seed funding for its VR-powered caregiver training tool.

In the UK, Oxford University has partnered with VR healthcare training company Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS)  to enable students to practice treating patients using Oculus Rift VR headsets, and receive feedback on the actions taken to improve their performance.

Meanwhile, London-based startup FundamentalVR secured $1.4 million in new funding from investment company Tern Plc in 2018 for its VR surgical training platform and In October 2019, the company closed a $5.67 million series A round.