Unify Medical’s Amplio Named TIME Best Invention of 2024

Amplio, a wearable advanced visualization system designed by Unify Medical, in collaboration with the University of Iowa and Madigan Army Medical Center, has been recognized as one of TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of 2024. Unify Medical’s Amplio has been recognized as one of TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of 2024.

Supported by the Combat Casualty Care Research Program (CCCRP), Naval Medical Research Command, and MTEC, Amplio delivers capabilities such as surgical magnification, night vision, augmented reality, and data analytics, all within a single platform. This innovative platform enhances the integration of medical data and streamlines communication, ensuring that critical information is readily accessible to clinicians, further revolutionizing the way healthcare professionals manage patient care in diverse settings.

Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Joint Service members operate in a variety of challenging and austere environments, where the combination of physical and mental stress from extreme conditions can compromise human performance and increase the risk of mission failure. These demanding settings complicate medical logistics and casualty management, which are essential for ensuring the survivability of combat casualties. To maintain warfighter lethality and operational effectiveness, next-generation biomedical products are crucial.

In low-light or blackout conditions typical of military operations, performing life-saving resuscitation and surgery becomes increasingly difficult, especially when strict light discipline is required. Although night vision devices (NVDs) have been employed to aid medical providers in these situations, their tactically focused design presents challenges, such as suboptimal visualization that can hinder precise tissue manipulation and successful procedural performance. Consequently, enhancing medical visualization in low-light environments is vital for delivering optimal care to injured warfighters and preventing fatalities. On a separate note, compact systems with microscope capability are needed for military dental and maxillofacial applications. These systems must accommodate both routine dental care and dental/maxillofacial trauma care use cases.

Key Features:

• Platform Technology: Amplio can enable next-generation surgical visualization in a wearable form factor. Various capabilities can be enabled with Amplio, including surgical magnification, night vision, fluorescence imaging, surgical navigation, computer vision, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and telemedicine.
• User-centric Design: Designed with healthcare professionals in mind, Amplio offers an intuitive interface that minimizes training time and maximizes efficiency.
• AI-driven Insights: Amplio employs advanced AI algorithms to analyze patient data, providing actionable insights that support clinical decision-making.
• Interoperability: The platform seamlessly integrates with existing healthcare systems, facilitating a smooth flow of information across different departments.

Unify Medical aims to expand Amplio’s capabilities, including further enhancements to its telemedical and AI offerings and broader integrations with additional healthcare technologies. The goal is to continually improve the quality of care while empowering clinicians with the tools they need to succeed.

The research project award recipients were selected from the respondents to MTEC’s Request for Project Proposals soliciting medical technological solutions related to MTEC’s Technology Focus Areas (Solicitation #MTEC-22-02-MPAI and 24-07-NavyDental).

About Unify Medical

Unify Medical is a medical company dedicated to developing advanced imaging and visualization technology for clinicians. Amplio, the company’s flagship technology, serves as the underlying platform for products with various capabilities, including an innovative wearable microscope that displays dynamically magnified 3-dimensional images in high-definition, giving clinicians an unprecedented view of the operative field. This technology enhances surgical precision, improves patient outcomes, and reduces healthcare costs. By prioritizing visualization quality and user-centric design, Unify Medical aims to reduce administrative burdens and enhance patient outcomes, ultimately transforming the healthcare landscape for both providers and patients.

About University of Iowa

Yang Liu is an accomplished researcher and faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Iowa. With a focus on advanced visualization, optical imaging, and computer vision, Liu’s work explores innovative solutions for complex engineering problems. His research encompasses areas such as medical imaging, surgical visualization, biophotonics, and augmented reality. Liu is dedicated to advancing engineering education and fostering collaboration between academia and industry, contributing to the growth of both fields through his expertise and leadership.