Touch Surgery

Touch Surgery provides a platform for surgical training and rehearsal, leveraging artificial intelligence, data analytics, and 3D visualization. The company was founded in London in 2013 by surgeons Dr. Jean Nehme and Dr. Andre Chow. Both founders identified a need to improve surgical training, which was being impacted by reduced training hours and limited access to operating rooms for trainees. Nehme, a trained plastic surgeon, and Chow, a general surgeon, left their clinical careers to develop a scalable solution, initially learning to code themselves to create the first version of the product.

The company's core offering is the Touch Surgery app, a mobile surgical simulator for iOS and Android that allows healthcare professionals to learn, rehearse, and test their knowledge of surgical procedures. The platform uses interactive 3D simulations based on cognitive task analysis to replicate the decision-making processes of expert surgeons. It covers over 400 procedures across more than 17 specialties. Beyond the mobile app, the company developed Touch Surgery™ Enterprise, a cloud-based video and analytics platform that gives surgeons and hospitals secure access to surgical video recordings for training, review, and performance analysis. This system uses AI to analyze procedures, provide real-time feedback in the operating room, and help standardize surgical care.

Initially focused on education, the company pivoted to capitalize on the value of its procedural data, targeting the virtualized operating room and surgical robotics markets. This strategic shift attracted significant investment. After raising a $20M Series B round in 2017, the parent company, Digital Surgery, was acquired by Medtronic in February 2020 to bolster Medtronic's minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgery platforms. Following the acquisition, Nehme and Chow remained in their leadership roles, and the company continues to operate from its London headquarters.

Keywords: surgical simulation, medical education, surgical training, AI in surgery, data analytics, surgical robotics, healthcare technology, virtual surgery, procedural guidance, cognitive task analysis, surgical video analysis, digital health, MedTech, operating room efficiency, robotic-assisted surgery, surgical performance, 3D visualization, clinical decision support, mobile medical app, minimally invasive surgery