Toray and Jolly Good Jointly Develop Virtual Reality Platform to Aid Training in Ablation Therapy

Toray Industries, Inc., and Jolly Good Inc. announced that they have jointly developed HotBalloon™ Ablation: A VR Tour. This virtual reality (VR) content is a platform for ablation training with Satake HotBalloon®,¹ Toray’s catheter ablation system for treating paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

The content enables trainees to practice HotBalloon™ ablation procedures virtually, wherever and whenever they want. This platform will complement traditional on-site training with actual proctor’s procedure.

Remote controls will offer more flexible learning opportunities, enabling trainees to enhance their understanding of procedures and acquire skills more rapidly. Toray will make HotBalloon™ Ablation: A VR Tour services and content available to physicians and medical staffs this month.

Development backdrop

There are around 720,000 people with atrial fibrillation in Japan.² Treatment generally necessitates advanced operative procedures. A physician inserts a catheter into the body and uses x-ray fluoroscopy to guide it into the heart.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for physicians and medical staff to provide on-site training. This situation created an urgent need for a tool that does not involve physicians so they can limit their travel around medical facilities and also reduces crowding in clinical environment.

In response to such voices from the medical field, Toray and Jolly Good filmed an actual procedure performed by Dr. Shiro Nakahara, an assistant professor of Cardiology at Dokkyo Medical University, performing ablation at the Saitama Medical Center in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, and created 360° clinical practice VR. Dr. Nakahara is highly proficient in HotBalloon™ procedures.

VR Content features

The VR content employs OPEcloud VR,³ Jolly Good’s clinical education platform, and that company’s Multi-Connection Remote VR Clinical System. This setup enables advanced medical teaching and training in clinical techniques without instructors and observers needing to physically gather together.

This remote system guides trainees to points on tablets that proctors wish to highlight. This streamlines VR sessions because all participants can share the same visuals, enjoy real-time commentary and questions and answers in real time.

Toray and Jolly Good will accelerate the deployment of HotBalloon™ and contribute to the development of catheter ablation therapy for patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation while helping educate and enhance the skills of medical professionals.

About Toray

Toray is a leading global company in innovative technologies and advanced materials. Since its foundation in 1926, the Company has contributed to society through the creation of new value and addressed global challenges by delivering high value-added products including fibers and textiles, resins and films, and carbon fiber composite materials. It operates in 26 countries and regions with about 48,000 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit www.toray.com.