‘simVitro gives you 6 degrees of freedom. It tells you everything about the mechanical environment you want to know’

Professor Bill Walsh, PhD, Professor and Director of the Surgical & Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, University of New South Wales.

In 2014, the University of New South Wales purchased simVITRO for its Surgical & Orthopaedic Research Laboratory. Previously, Professor Walsh, the lab’s director, was resigned to the fact that including a robot in his research would be too expensive, too complicated, and too cumbersome. When he came across simVITRO at a trade show in late 2013 and spoke to the team about its powerful – yet intuitive – capabilities, the choice to finally introduce a robot to the lab was suddenly an easy one. Five years later, the lab continues to churn out new studies using simVITRO, including two new medical devices that are coming to market.

“Whether you are a simple user, like me, or a power user, you can set up the robot and generate data within minutes.”

Dr. Walsh’s lab has been able to take advantage of the quick setups to iteratively design new implants, rather than just test, leading to the lab’s commercialisation success. Dr. Walsh contends simVITRO is not just a product; the top-notch customer support is essential for both training a lab within weeks to get simVITRO up and running, as well as for brainstorming new ideas and solutions as the lab’s use of the robot evolves.

Looking back, Dr. Walsh is certain that simVITRO accelerated the trajectory of his research.

“I would not be using a robot if simVITRO didn’t exist. The path to commercialisation would have therefore been more arduous,” says Dr. Walsh. “As the FDA requires more and more data, and with our ability to quickly generate that data right here in the lab, simVITRO will continue to give us a competitive advantage.”