Proto (previously known as Portl) has revealed that its Epic hologram technology is allowing cancer patients to consult life-size virtual specialists.
The project was announced at a recent UC Berkeley’s forum on Global Healthcare Innovation, but the Proto unit has actually been enabling consultations with
beamed-in cancer specialists at the West Cancer facility for a few months now.
"Working with the team from Proto to bring to life, what several years
ago would have seemed impossible, is now going to allow West Cancer Center & Research Institute to pioneer options for patients to get highly specialized
care without having to travel to large metro areas,” said West Cancer's CEO, Mitch Graves. "Our Paris, TN clinic is one of our 11 locations
and we are already expanding to a second location in October and I can see us expanding to several others in the future. The opportunity to
live our mission that began 45 years ago, to provide clinical and research excellence for all cancer patients, is further validated with the addition of
Proto Hologram."
"We didn’t rush into this – knowing that helping health care providers would have important privacy concerns, we made a serious engineering investment
and earned our SOC Type 2 security certifications so that people can trust their communications are safe," added Proto CEO David Nussbaum. "We’re very proud that
the distinguished team at West Cancer Center and its real need to reach rural patients is the first provider to establish a program for hologram care."