We aim to make personalized 3D mixed reality visualization accessible, transforming the entire surgical lifecycle with patient-specific precision globally. This is the smartphone moment for surgical technology.
Ali Rezaei Haddad, CEO XARlabs
09 December 2024
XARLabs is revolutionising surgery with mixed reality at LIHE
“I honestly think the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) is one of, if not the best places for startups like us to be right now,” says Ali Rezaei Haddad.
Ali is the CEO of XARlabs, a company that is developing cutting-edge technology for enhanced 3D surgical experiences.
XARlabs has recently taken up residence at LIHE, a MedTech Hub, led by the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s college London.
Ali says it all began when he met Nicolas Huber, Director of Commercial Operations and Partnerships, LIHE, at a conference, “he heard about what XARlabs was doing, I was a team of one back then basically working out of my garage, and he invited me to see LIHE and consider moving there.”
XARlabs is working to revolutionise the entire surgical lifecycle by taking flat 2D images from CTs or MRIs and turning them into 3D digital models that can be viewed in mixed reality. What they are working on now is superimposing those models onto patients, like x-ray vision, for surgeons to use as rehearsal plans or live visual feeds in the operating theatre.
XARlabs is working to revolutionise the entire surgical lifecycle. Its flagship technology, simXAR, transforms 2D images from CT and MRI scans into interactive 3D models. These models can be superimposed onto patients, like ‘x-ray vision’ for surgeons to use as pre-operative rehearsal or live visual aids in the operating theatre.
“After visiting LIHE, seeing its location in the centre of London and meeting other start-ups that are co-housed in the building, it was a no brainer,” Ali says. “Nic asked me how the LIHE team could support me, and I told him I was looking to hire people.”
Ali was connected with Takrim Titas, a recent graduate from the Healthcare Engineering MSc, a programme jointly delivered by the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences and King’s Business School.
“Having that connection with King’s as a means to access talent is invaluable. The advantage of hiring a recent graduate is a great opportunity for mentoring and training them with the skills needed to specifically support our company.”
Takrim, who is now working as a biomedical engineer, says he is extremely grateful to have been connected with XARlabs and have found this opportunity straight out of university.
“It's a great way to see how everything is developed from the ground up, rather than joining a more established business where you’d be thrown into the deep end and given little support or training. At the moment I am helping our head engineer with basically everything from app development to 3D segmentations, that kind of breadth of experience is amazing,” he says.
The simXAR platform recently played a pivotal role in the successful separation of conjoined twins. This landmark surgery marks the first use of simXAR in such a complex medical procedure, demonstrating its immense potential in surgical planning and simulation.
Ali says XARlabs’ underlining mission is to revolutionise the surgical lifecycle at a fraction of its current costs.