Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI), (“Vuzix” or, the “Company”), a provider of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, today announced the market expansion to support the NextAR surgical AR platform developed by Medacta International, one of the world’s largest providers of innovative orthopedic products focusing on healthcare sustainability. Having used the Vuzix Blade to complete the first smart glasses-based total knee replacement in the US in 2020, Medacta recently received its CE marking for knee, shoulder and spine applications for its NextAR Augmented Reality Surgical Platform in Europe and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for shoulder application. CE marking is an administrative marking with which the manufacturer or importer affirms its conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European marketplace.
The NextAR platform employs a preoperative scan, with proprietary algorithms that create a personalized biomechanical model for each replacement. Surgeons equipped with Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses can then access biomechanical visualizations using augmented reality in real time, without having to divert their eyes from the procedure to glance at a computer screen. NextAR’s smart delivery tools may improve efficiency in computer-assisted surgery by offering a compact solution that avoids the need for a bulky external detection platform. With a low upfront capital investment and overall lower cost per case compared to other technologies, this translates into greater efficiency in the operating room, which is particularly relevant for US Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs).
“We’re proud to provide the hardware backbone for Medacta’s NextAR platform as it continues to branch into new surgical applications which now include knee, shoulder and spine in Europe and knee and shoulder in the United States,” said Paul Travers, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vuzix. “The Vuzix Smart Glasses are lightweight, comfortable and completely wireless, which means surgeons have complete freedom of movement and can wear them for extended operations.”
About Vuzix Corporation
Vuzix is a leading supplier of Smart-Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and products for the consumer and enterprise markets. The Company’s products include personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable displays and augmented reality. Vuzix holds 192 patents and patents pending and numerous IP licenses in the Video Eyewear field. The Company has won Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) awards for innovation for the years 2005 to 2021 and several wireless technology innovation awards among others. Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a public company (NASDAQ: VUZI) with offices in Rochester, NY, Oxford, UK, and Tokyo, Japan. For more information, visit Vuzix website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
