Osso VR: Democratizing Global Access to Modern Surgical Techniques

Season 2, Episode 5: Show Notes.

The year 2022 is undeniably an interesting time to be a surgeon. Rapidly advancing technology combined with an explosive rate of newer and safer surgical techniques has made it almost impossible for surgeons to stay abreast of all options available. Osso VR CEO and Founder Justin Barad calls this the 'exploration trap' and joins us today to discuss how he has dedicated his career to tackling this problem and revolutionizing how surgeons train and prepare for surgery. 

In this episode, we explore the challenges surgeons face around the world and how Osso VR is inspiring healthcare professionals at scale through virtual training experiences that accelerate learning and drive adoption. You’ll also hear Justin reflect on his varied career, what it was like pivoting from game design to medical school, and how it all led him to the founding of Osso VR. Make sure you tune in today!

 Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing today’s guest Justin Barad, Founder, and CEO of Osso VR.
• How rapid changes in medical technology are impacting the way surgeons operate.
• Some of the challenges that come with specializing as a surgeon and the difficulty practicing different types of surgery.
• Justin’s history in video game development and how he became interested in healthcare.
• The potential for accessible and affordable simulations to have a dramatic impact on global healthcare.
• The risk that patients take on when their surgeon is not yet proficient in a particular method of surgery.
• The rate of adoption, and patterns of behavior, that Justin has observed in Osso VR users.
• How repeatedly doing something over time maximizes memory retention and minimizes the ‘forgetting curve’.
• Osso VR’s exceptional team of medical illustrators and how it sets them apart from other surgical simulators.
• Some of the challenges Justin faced during the multiple pivots he made in his career, like going from being a game developer to attending medical school.
• Why startups are lessons in failure and how Justin’s motivation kept him going.
• How the COVID-19 pandemic helped emphasize the value of Osso VR as a simulator for surgeons.
• Discover Osso VR’s ambitious goal to reach over 20 million healthcare professionals.
• Why it was critical for Justin that the efficacy of Osso VR be objectively peer-reviewed by academic institutions.

Tweetables:

 “Training repeatedly over time is a way to maximize retention and minimize what's called ‘the forgetting curve.’” — Justin Barad [0:11:21]

 “Startups are an exercise in failure. It is daily micro failures, and every now and then a major failure. That is what prunes the tree, and finds product-market fit, and finds this glowing core that is scalable, and that you can use to solve the problem.” — Justin Barad [0:26:15]

 “I think when it comes to VR it's much less controversial now. It's like we're past the innovation stage. Now we're at the implementation and scale phase. I think some parts of the market and the industry are just crushing it, especially the medical technology industry.” — Justin Barad [0:40:32]

 Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Justin Barad on LinkedIn

Osso VR

Pearly Chen on Twitter

VIVE

HTC VIVE on Instagram

HTC VIVE on Twitter

HTC VIVE on YouTube