SurgAr – Surgical Augmented Reality
Creation date: 2019
Field: AI applied to microsurgery
Status: start-up, member of Frenchtech
Founders: 4 co-founding professors, Nicolas Bourdel, Adrien Bartoli, Michel Canis and Bertrand Le Roy
Website: surgar-surgery.com
Support : Busi By Clermont Auvergne Innovation, Le Village by CA
Funding: participation of SCR Métropoles Innovation
Awards: iNov (2024), Trophées des Entreprises du Puy-de-Dôme, iLab (2019)
Highlights :
meeting with:
Nicolas Bourdel Professor of Gynecological Surgery at the University of Clermont Auvergne (UCA), Gynecological Surgeon at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and CEO of SurgAR.
>> his LinkedIn
Before taking an entrepreneurial turn in 2019, the adventure is first and foremost a scientific one. It began in Clermont-Ferrand, in 2012, when Nicolas Bourdel, then preparing his thesis in microsurgery, met Adrien Bartoli, a computer vision expert at the Institut Pascal (UCA).
SurgAr, from lab to spin-off
What’s next? Thirteen years of R&D. A proven collaboration between Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital and the EnCoV lab at the Institut Pascal (UCA, CNRS) to develop the first U-SurgAR (U for uterus) software. At the helm: a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, surgeons and doctors. ” SurgAR is a spin-off,” explains Nicolas Bourdel, the start-up’s managing director. In other words? A confidential academic innovation that leaves the lab to become a concrete solution. “We registered the intellectual property on the university and CHU side. But only a private company could afford to industrialize a medical device. So we created SurgAR in 2019 to move from the lab to the market.”
Minimally invasive surgery, a Clermont-Ferrand innovation in gynecology
To take the full measure of SurgAr’s innovation, a brief retrospective is in order. Nicolas Bourdel, also a gynecological surgeon at Clermont CHU and professor of gynecological surgery at UCA, explains. “The revolution of the 80s and 90s was minimally invasive surgery performed with a camera. Instead of opening the belly completely, an incision is made at the navel to introduce the camera and operate using small instruments. Guided by the video on the screen.” The camera in question: between 5 and 10 mm, like the size of the incisions where until now scars of several centimetres were left. SurgAR is a continuation of this revolution.
Making the invisible visible
This is precisely what SurgAR offers, thanks to virtual transparency and augmented reality. Once in the operating room, surgeons operate on an interposed screen: their eyes and hands are uncoordinated, and they can no longer palpate the organ. The risk is that they miss the tumor, and have to operate again. SurgAR compensates for these shortcomings. The software uses conventional 2D imaging – MRI or CT – to reconstruct a 3D volume. This is what we call the patient’s digital twin.
The result: a safer, faster and more effective procedure. For patients, the benefits are clear: reduced risks in the OR, shorter hospital stays, faster return to work, fewer post-operative complications, and therefore fewer repeat operations. The result is a significant reduction in costs for healthcare establishments.
U-SurgAR – a first-to-market solution
“This is the Holy Grail for getting to market, as the criteria are extremely strict.”
At the same time, SurgAr closed a fund-raising round in September to finalize its L-SurgAR and K-SurgAR solutions for the treatment of liver and kidney cancers.
Focus on the U.S. market
From Turing22, their California-style coworking space, the start-up is preparing to conquer new markets. “Having space and suitable premises is a key success factor,” says Nicolas Bourdel. “That, and the hyper-favorable quality of life.
We attract talent to Clermont. They get attached to the region and stay.”
Nonetheless, SurgAR intends to spread its influence elsewhere. To acquire international stature. To America and beyond? “Operating margins are much higher there than in Europe. The USA really is our biggest potential market.” All that remains is to obtain FDA approval, the equivalent of CE marking for access to the American market. And investors. Within 2 to 3 years. Did you say ambitious? As a researcher, I can only have doubts – that’s my job,” smiles Nicolas Bourdel. As an entrepreneur, it’s a different matter: we’re going to make it, I’m sure of it!”