AVATAR MEDICAL, winner of the EIC Accelerator: a €2.5M grant for its virtual reality for surgeons
A spin-off of Institut Curie and Institut Pasteur[1], two Carnot-accredited institutes, AVATAR MEDICAL has a clear ambition: to put medical imaging at the heart of surgical practice by making them accessible to surgeons throughout the patient's journey. Created in 2020, the MedTech is developing a virtual reality solution that allows surgeons to go beyond a simple 2D visualization and have access, with precision and in real time, to a better representation of the area to be operated on, considerably simplifying the preparation of the most complex surgical procedures. In 2021, Institut Curie became the first hospital in the world to acquire this state-of-the-art visualization solution.
After receiving the i-Lab award in 2020 and the i-Nov award in 2022, AVATAR MEDICAL has once again been recognized for its cutting-edge technology. The company was announced on December 17, 2022 as a winner of the EIC Accelerator, counting among 78 companies, including 9 French companies, selected from more than 1000 initial applications. The EIC (European Innovation Council) is Europe's flagship innovation program for identifying, developing and commercializing disruptive technologies that are potentially too risky to benefit from private funding. The EIC Accelerator specifically and significantly supports deeptech startups from EU member states.
An important criterion for this program is the startup's strong growth potential and, in particular, its ability to launch a highly innovative solution in a large market. AVATAR MEDICAL's vision and strong potential to permit less invasive procedures, faster patient recovery times, and increased surgeon productivity within hospitals convinced the jury.
The EIC Accelerator subsidy will enable AVATAR MEDICAL to accelerate the migration of its technology to the cloud. Benefits include a faster and wider access to 3D image visualization within hospitals. In parallel, the company is enhancing its core rendering technology and developing promising clinical applications in conjunction with medical device manufacturers.
This prestigious award marks the end of a successful year at AVATAR MEDICAL. It coincides with a year that saw the signature of our first major contract with a Medtech company, and the publication of three senology patient cases with Institut Curie. We also were selected to present our results on visceral aneurysms at the Paris Vascular Insights conference, and at the Veith Symposium in New York with the Marie Lannelongue Hospital. In addition to this, we were recognized by other important awards in 2022 including: Innov’up Leader PIA laureate, the Grand Prix at Laval Virtual, ranking in the top 100 French dealroom startups and the Innovator’s Prize from the Île-de-France region to recognize the work of Jean-Baptiste Masson, CSO and also head of laboratory at Institut Pasteur.
said Xavier Wartelle, CEO of AVATAR MEDICAL.
AVATAR MEDICAL's track record is impressive! With its revolutionary technology, the company continues to move forward at a rapid pace with the confidence of the most prestigious programs. We are proud to have believed, alongside Institut Pasteur and PSL University, in this academic research work and to have given it the initial means to develop, so that today we can witness the deployment of an innovation that concretely improves patient care.
enthuses Cécile Campagne, head of Institut Curie’s Technology Transfer Office and Deputy Director of Carnot Curie Cancer.
The year 2023 will mark an important year for AVATAR MEDICAL with a forecasted FDA certification, the submission of a CE Mark application, and the launch of our first orthopedic clinical application.
[1] AVATAR MEDICAL is based on four years of research in human-data interaction and machine learning conducted at Institut Pasteur and Institut Curie and has benefited from the support of its founding institutions, through Institut Curie's start-up incubation program and the Pasteur Innovation Accelerator.
