Development backdrop
There are around 720,000 people with atrial fibrillation in Japan (see Glossary note 2). Treatment generally necessitates advanced operative procedures. A physician inserts a catheter into the body and uses x-ray fluoroscopy to guide it into the heart.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for physicians and medical staffs to provide on-site training. This situation created an urgent need for a tool that does not involve physicians so they can limit their travel around medical facilities and also reduces crowding in clinical environment.
In response to such voices from the medical field, Toray and Jolly Good filmed actual procedure performed by Dr. Shiro Nakahara, an assistant professor of Cardiology at Dokkyo Medical University, performing ablation at its Saitama Medical Center in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, and created 360 ° clinical practice VR. Dr. Nakahara is highly proficient in HotBalloon™ procedures.
VR Content features
The VR content employs OPEcloud VR (see Glossary note 3), Jolly Good’s clinical education platform, and that company’s Multi-Connection Remote VR Clinical System. This setup enables advanced medical teaching and training in clinical techniques without instructors and observers needing to physically gather together.
This remote system guides trainees to points on tablets that proctors wish to highlight. This streamlines VR sessions because all participants can share the same visuals, enjoy real time commentary and questions-and-answers in real time.
VR content image
This setup enables participants to feel as if they are right next to the physician during an operational procedure. The VR goggle screens in the center present a dashboard of information checked during surgery.
Remote VR system images
Instructors and trainees use the same images during an online commentary and question-and-answer sessions. It is also possible to draw on screens.
Toray and Jolly Good will accelerate the deployment of HotBalloon™ and contribute to the development of catheter ablation therapy for patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation while helping educate and enhance the skills of medical professionals.
Glossary
1. Satake HotBalloon
This catheter thermal ablation system of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was developed in Japan. A high-frequency electric current heats the liquid in the balloon on the catheter tip. The heat transfers to the myocardial tissue of the left atrium, the treatment site. The balloon is flexible and variable in size. It can therefore fit the pulmonary vein ostium, the main source of atrial fibrillation, for circumferential ablation. The catheter should help enhance the safety and effectiveness by short-term atrial fibrillation treatment. Satake HotBalloon® is a registered trademark of Toray Industries, Inc.
| Brand name |
SATAKE HotBalloon Catheter |
Generic name |
Cardiac ablation catheter |
| Approval number |
22700BZX00355000 |
Category |
Class IV specially controlled medical device |
2. Source: Inoue H, et al. Int J Cardiol 2009;137:102-107
3. OPEcloud VR
This clinical education platform makes it easy to transform any procedure into high-precision VR by permanently installing a high-definition 360° camera and server at a medical facility, making it possible experience and learn techniques from the perspectives of surgeons.
Profile of Toray Industries, Inc.
President: Akihiro Nikkaku
Paid-in Capital: ¥147,873,030,771 (as of March 31, 2020)
Head office: Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, 1-1, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Establishment: January 1926
Principal businesses: Manufacturing, processing, and selling fibers, plastics, and other basic materials
Website:
https://www.toray.co.jp/
Profile of Jolly Good Inc.
CEO: Kensuke Joji
Paid-in Capital: ¥ 1,476,025,000 (including capital reserve)
Location: WORK EDITION NIHONBASHI 701, 10-13, Nihonbashi-Tomizawacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Establishment: May 15, 2014
Principal businesses: Advanced technology R&D, entertainment planning and development, and software development
Website:
https://jollygood.co.jp/
