The Shape Sensing Company
The Shape Sensing Company specializes in fiber optic shape sensing technology that reconstructs and displays the entire shape of thin, flexible optical fibers. Their mission is to revolutionize medical navigation, guidance, and control of surgical devices, reducing reliance on harmful radiative imaging and enhancing procedural safety and efficiency. They aim to transform interventional medicine through innovative solutions that provide real-time, 3D visualization of device shape and position within complex anatomies, enabling safer, faster, and more precise procedures across various medical fields. The company is actively advancing minimally invasive surgery, interventional pulmonology, neurostimulation, structural heart procedures, and colonoscopy, leveraging full-length 3D shape sensing to improve patient outcomes, reduce risks, and enable new levels of surgical precision.
Industries
Nr. of Employees
small (1-50)
The Shape Sensing Company
Products
High-density fiber-optic shape sensing interrogation and processing platform
An interrogation and processing system that uses optical interrogation methods to collect thousands of distributed strain measurements along meter-scale sensors and convert them into real-time 3D shape and orientation outputs suitable for clinical navigation and robotic feedback.
Thin fiber-based 3D shape sensor assemblies (multi-core or bundled)
Sensor constructions using multi-core or bundled fiber formats with inscribed sensing elements designed for embedding into medical and industrial devices, offered in configurations compatible with disposable or reusable workflows.
High-density fiber-optic shape sensing interrogation and processing platform
An interrogation and processing system that uses optical interrogation methods to collect thousands of distributed strain measurements along meter-scale sensors and convert them into real-time 3D shape and orientation outputs suitable for clinical navigation and robotic feedback.
Thin fiber-based 3D shape sensor assemblies (multi-core or bundled)
Sensor constructions using multi-core or bundled fiber formats with inscribed sensing elements designed for embedding into medical and industrial devices, offered in configurations compatible with disposable or reusable workflows.
Services
Custom integration of fiber-optic sensors into medical devices
Mechanical and electrical integration of thin, flexible fiber sensors into catheters, guidewires, endoscopes, and other instruments, including miniaturization, protection strategies, and options tailored for single-use or reusable workflows.
Performance testing, phantom studies, and validation
Design and execution of bench and phantom experiments to quantify shape/orientation accuracy, repeatability, and clinical utility, including studies that measure procedural time and radiation exposure impacts.
Software integration, visualization and imaging registration
Integration of real-time shape reconstruction outputs with clinical imaging workflows, visualization consoles, and robotic platforms via SDKs, APIs, or licensing models.
Training, simulation and clinical education support
Provision of full-length device visualization and recorded procedure data to support hands-on training, simulation workflows, and certification enhancement for endoscopic and interventional procedures.
Data and analytics services for AI and autonomous workflows
Provision of continuous shape-sensing data streams, labeled datasets, and integration support to feed machine learning models, procedural analytics, auto-documentation, and autonomy-enabling control systems.
Custom integration of fiber-optic sensors into medical devices
Mechanical and electrical integration of thin, flexible fiber sensors into catheters, guidewires, endoscopes, and other instruments, including miniaturization, protection strategies, and options tailored for single-use or reusable workflows.
Performance testing, phantom studies, and validation
Design and execution of bench and phantom experiments to quantify shape/orientation accuracy, repeatability, and clinical utility, including studies that measure procedural time and radiation exposure impacts.
Software integration, visualization and imaging registration
Integration of real-time shape reconstruction outputs with clinical imaging workflows, visualization consoles, and robotic platforms via SDKs, APIs, or licensing models.
Training, simulation and clinical education support
Provision of full-length device visualization and recorded procedure data to support hands-on training, simulation workflows, and certification enhancement for endoscopic and interventional procedures.
Data and analytics services for AI and autonomous workflows
Provision of continuous shape-sensing data streams, labeled datasets, and integration support to feed machine learning models, procedural analytics, auto-documentation, and autonomy-enabling control systems.
Expertise Areas
- Distributed fiber-optic shape sensing for surgical and endoscopic navigation
- High-resolution optical interrogation and signal processing (OFDR, FBG-based sensing)
- Integration of sensing into minimally invasive and single-use medical devices
- Real-time visualization, imaging registration, and clinical workflow integration
Key Technologies
- Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR)
- Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) and distributed FBG sensing
- Distributed fiber-optic strain and curvature sensing
- High-density spatial sampling (thousands of points per meter)