MedUni Vienna's Inventors of the Year 2024 award

SIMIS develops innovative neurosurgical simulators that bridge the gap between theoretical learning and practical experience in neurosurgery. The simulators create an immersive and realistic environment in which students and professionals can improve their skills, learn complex neuroanatomical structures and practice surgical techniques - without the risks associated with real operations.

At the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, research and development efforts focus on physical and digital simulation systems as well as tools for objective assessment of surgical skills. The dual approach includes both high-precision, 3D-printed physical simulators and advanced digital augmented reality (AR) simulators. These cutting-edge technologies are on a mission to seamlessly connect the tangible and the virtual, enabling unprecedented precision in surgical training.

Improving surgical training
SIMIS was founded at the Medical University of Vienna in 2019 under the lead of Francesco Moscato (Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering) and Philippe Dodier (Department of Neurosurgery). The project involves international collaborations with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) as well as the European Association for Neurosurgical Societies. The project was born out of the intention to advance medical education and the goal of improving patient outcomes. Given the limitations of traditional surgical training methods, SIMIS aimed to create a more immersive, precise and accessible training experience. Today, the project is a leader in the field and continues to push the boundaries of surgical training.

The development of the physical simulator was funded by the AWS program “Prototype Funding for Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences” (No. P2410019) in 2023.