Surgical Theater Names Former Given Imaging Ltd. and Philips Healthcare Executives to Business Advisory Board

CLEVELAND, July 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgical Theater, LLC announced today the addition of two new members to its Business Advisory Board. New members include Ori J. Braun, former Senior Vice President for Business Development and New Technologies for Given Imaging Ltd., and James (Jim) Fulton, former Senior Vice President and General Manager of Philips Healthcare's Computer Tomography business unit. Surgical Theater applies flight simulation technology to brain surgery and has developed software-based solutions that combine the science of aviation with advanced CT/MRI imaging technology.

"It is very exciting to have individuals such as Ori J. Braun and James Fulton join the Surgical Theater Business Advisory Board.  Both Ori and Jim bring a vast amount of knowledge to the company and their expertise will be beneficial in allowing us to continue growing and being innovative in the products we introduce," said Moty Avisar, President, CEO and Co-Founder of Surgical Theater. "Ori and Jim's involvement will help Surgical Theater to continue accelerated sales and develop collaborative relationships with key players in the market."    

In his most recent position, Braun was the Senior Vice President for Business Development and New Technologies for Given Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: GIVN), a company acquired by Covidian for $1 billion.  Given is a world leader in developing and marketing patient-friendly solutions for visualizing and detecting disorders in the GI tract. Prior to joining Given, Braun served as President of Valor Computerized Systems Inc., a leader in productivity increasing engineering software solutions to the PCB design, fabrication and assembly industry. In addition, he served as President of LifeWatch Inc., a leading cardiac monitoring services company and also founded and held various executive positions at 3DV Systems Inc., a company developing and selling 3D camera technology that was acquired by Microsoft; Helios Software Engineering Ltd., a company in the business of simulation technology that was acquired by Cadence Design Systems Inc.; and at Lansoft Computing Ltd. He's also held the position of Vice President of Business Development at RDC Rafael Development Corporation Ltd., a large shareholder of Given Imaging. Braun holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva, Israel.

"I am very excited to join such an innovative and dynamic team and to serve in the capacity of Business Advisory Board Member with Surgical Theater," said Braun. "I am looking forward to collaborating with Surgical Theater to establish strategic alliances with large-scale medical device companies and insure that the company's technology will become the 'standard of care' throughout hospitals and clinics worldwide."

Fulton served as a Senior Vice President at Philips Healthcare (NYSE: PHG), where he was General Manager of the Computed Tomography Business Unit. In his capacity he was responsible for the management of the worldwide CT organization and P&L with operations in the United States, Israel, Netherlands, China and India.  Prior to this role he held the position of Vice President of Global Marketing for Computed Tomography. In this role he led the successful development of the CT product strategy and product roadmap, which included the delivery of many new products and services.  Jim was previously Vice President and General Manager of Picker Internationals Nuclear Medicine Division. During his career he also held various positions in sales and sales management. In addition, Fulton was the President and CEO of Imalux Corporation, developer of the Niris® Imaging System based on Optical Coherence Tomography.

"I believe Surgical Theater is becoming a leader in the surgical navigation market which has been demonstrated by the number of leading teaching and research hospitals who have already acquired the products," said Fulton. "Surgical Theater's unequivocal capabilities to provide surgeons with the tools to "see what can't be seen" through flight simulation technology during surgery preparation as well as in the operating room provides us unique clinical advantages. Through close collaboration with our customers and clinical advisors we expect to rapidly expand sales in the USA as well as worldwide."

Surgical Theater's line of products includes the Surgical Rehearsal Platform (SRP) and the Surgical Navigation Advanced Platform (SNAP), which are based on 3D imaging technology and augmented reality that allows a surgeon to perform a real-life "fly through" of a "patient-specific" surgery. The SRP allows for pre-living surgeries while preparing outside the operating room and the SNAP is utilized to take the pre-planned pathway into the operating room to be used during a procedure. The unique software utilizes flight simulator technology to permit the remote connection of multiple platforms; participants anywhere in the world can simultaneously work together and practice the same case with real-time feedback and collaboration.

Since Surgical Theater obtained FDA clearance on their first product in February 2013, SRPs have been installed in leading research and teaching hospitals across the United States. Hospitals include: University Hospitals Case Medical Center, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Mayo Clinic, NYU Langone Medical Center, and others.  With FDA clearance granted for the SNAP on June 30^th, the SNAP is rapidly being acquired by current partner institutions and beyond.

Surgical Theater has received generous recognition from the media.  Recently, the company was named in Forbes as one of 10 Health Tech Companies Changing The World.  Surgical Theater was also featured on CNN as a breakthrough technology in surgery, and also recently featured on FOX News and Extra.

About Surgical Theater, LLC
Surgical Theater, LLC is a privately held, Cleveland, Ohio-based startup that produces virtual realistic and interactive scenes where surgeons are able to plan, rehearse, tele-mentor their specific missions, and "see what can't be seen" through real-time operating room collaboration. The SNAP enables surgeons to perform a real-life "fly through" of a "patient-specific" surgery and receive unique virtual-reality guidance to determine the safest and most efficient pathway to remove cerebral tumors and treat vascular anomalies.  The SRP provides the opportunity for novice and experienced surgeons to "pre-live the future" by rehearsing their procedure prior to the actual procedure, similar to what pilots do prior to flying complex missions. Such purposeful practice or warm-up has been shown to benefit both novice and experienced surgeons; it may provide an important new tool in the surgeon's tools to improve patient safety and outcomes. For more information visit www.surgicaltheater.net.

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SOURCE Surgical Theater, LLC