MedCognition, Inc.

What MedCognition, Inc. does

MedCognition, Inc. is a San Antonio-based medical simulation company founded in 2016 that developed PerSim, a holographic patient simulation system built on Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality hardware. The platform projects life-like, medically accurate patient simulations—including adult, pediatric, obstetric, and geriatric models with dynamic clinical condition animations (respiratory distress, seizures, chest pain, stroke, trauma, hazmat)—directly into real-world training environments such as ambulances, ERs, classrooms, and field settings. The system ships as a self-contained portable kit (under 35 lbs in a Pelican case, operating on a closed wireless network without requiring internet connectivity), enabling in-situ team training with up to four simultaneous patients in the PerSim Plus tier.

The company sells PerSim through direct enterprise field sales with quote-based pricing, supported by inside sales for technical support, industry conference presence (ACEP, EMS Today, Texas EMS Conference), webinars, and earned media. Revenue combines one-time hardware sales of the PerSim Base System (HoloLens, Android instructor/patient tablets, wireless router, software license) with recurring annual software licensing and PerSim Plus subscriptions that deliver quarterly content updates. Target customers span pre-hospital EMS, nursing education, physicians, allied health professionals, and U.S. military medical training programs, with over 40 named institutional customers and a Department of Defense contract via AFWERX.

MedCognition filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on January 12, 2026, listing $51,946 in assets against $471,457 in liabilities and reporting $812,500 in revenue (28% YoY growth) for the prior year. The company had only one employee at the time of filing, and no funding rounds are disclosed in the available data, indicating the underlying growth was not capital-efficient enough to sustain operations absent institutional capital or a successful restructuring. Leadership is led by CEO Russell J. Unrath (appointed January 2022) and CTO John Quarles, PhD, with the company having originated from a partnership between emergency medicine clinicians at UT Health San Antonio and computer scientists at UTSA.

Name

MedCognition, Inc.

Legal name

MedCognition, Inc.

Website

https://medcognition.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MedCognition develops PerSim, a Microsoft HoloLens-based holographic patient simulation system for training pre-hospital EMS, nursing, physician, and military medical personnel. The portable mixed-reality platform projects dynamic clinical scenarios into real work environments and serves over 40 institutional customers across the U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Simulation Training

NAICS

Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (3391), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Clinical Simulation (Surgery, Nursing, EMT, Patient Interaction) (EDAFAJAC)

Keywords

• Holographic patient simulation
• Mixed reality medical training
• Augmented reality simulation
• Pre-hospital medical training
• Healthcare simulation technology

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. PerSim Hardware System Sales: Sale of complete PerSim base system including Microsoft HoloLens headset, two Android tablets (controller and monitor), wireless router, charging station, software license, and portable Pelican case. Additional HoloLens headsets available for purchase separately for team training.
2. Annual Software Licensing: Annual software license renewal included with system purchase. Software updates and new features released quarterly. Base system features are permanent with no additional fees for core functionality.
3. PerSim Plus Subscription: Enhanced training system expansion pack available at annual subscription fee. Includes major trauma scenarios, multi-patient simulation (up to 4 patients), advanced adult illness, and expanded pediatric models including neonate, infant, and school-age children.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MedCognition develops and sells PerSim, a holographic patient simulation system built on Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality technology. The system projects life-like, medically accurate patient simulations into real-world training environments (ambulances, ERs, classrooms, clinical workspaces) for healthcare professional training. The offering includes a hardware base system (HoloLens, tablets, wireless router, charging station, Pelican case), annual software licensing, the PerSim Plus expansion subscription, and the PerSim Community scenario-sharing portal.

Product overview

MedCognition offers PerSim, a holographic patient simulation platform built on Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality technology. The core PerSim system projects life-like, medically accurate patient simulations into real-world environments for medical training. The product portfolio includes the PerSim Base System (hardware/software package with 2 patient models, essential medical conditions, Android tablets, and HoloLens), the subscription-based PerSim Plus expansion pack (trauma, multi-patient, pediatric models), PerSim Baby (infant model included in base), and PerSim Community (web portal for scenario sharing). The system is designed to be portable, affordable, and usable in any environment without internet connectivity, targeting pre-hospital/EMS, nursing, physician, and allied health professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PerSim®: Holographic patient simulation system for training healthcare professionals. Uses Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality technology to project life-like patient simulations into real-time work environments. Includes multiple patient models (neo-natal, infant, school-age, adult, geriatric, pregnant) and medical conditions.

Products and services

• PerSim Holographic patient simulation system using Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality technology to project life-like, medically accurate patient simulations into real-time work environments for medical training. Enables healthcare professionals (EMS, nursing, physicians, allied health) to practice patient care scenarios in classrooms, ambulances, ERs, or clinical workspaces.
• PerSim Base System Entry-level training system including 1 Microsoft HoloLens headset, 2 Android tablets (instructor controller T1 and patient monitoring T2), wireless router, charging station, software license, and portable Pelican case. Includes adult/pediatric/obstetric/geriatric patient models, core medical conditions (shortness of breath, seizure, chest pain, altered mental status), and a virtual monitor-defibrillator with cardiac rhythms and capnometry.
• PerSim Plus Enhanced training system expansion pack available at an annual subscription fee. Adds major trauma scenarios, multi-patient simulation (up to 4 simultaneous patients), male and female models of different ethnicities, advanced adult illness cases, and pediatric models including neonate, infant, and school-age children.
• PerSim Baby Infant patient model included in the PerSim Base System at no additional cost. Features realistic depictions of emergency medical conditions including respiratory distress and other infant emergencies, delivered via quarterly software updates.
• PerSim Community Web-based portal enabling easy creation and sharing of simulation scenarios from anywhere. Allows instructors to share user-generated content and access free scenarios created by the broader PerSim user community.

Quantifiable outcome

• 28% year-over-year revenue growth achieved in the year prior to bankruptcy filing
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Microsoft (HoloLens)coreTechnology or IntegrationMedCognition's PerSim system is built on Microsoft HoloLens mixed reality technology. The partnership provides the hardware platform for holographic patient simulation, with PerSim leveraging HoloLens capabilities to project life-like patient simulations into real training environments.
• University of Texas Health San AntoniocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedCognition was developed through partnership with University of Texas Health San Antonio. Co-founder background and clinical expertise derived from this institution, which contributed to the company's founding in 2016.
• University of Texas at San AntoniocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedCognition was co-developed with University of Texas at San Antonio through partnership of emergency medicine clinicians, educators, and computer scientists. CTO/Founder John Quarles, PhD received faculty innovation recognition from UTSA.
• U.S. Department of Defense (AFWERX)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPerSim is contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense for military medical training. Company logo appears in connection with AFWERX (Air Force innovation program) on customer references, indicating active government contracting relationship.
• Temple CollegeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTemple College was the first institution in the country to adopt PerSim for training future healthcare providers. The college has been a PerSim user since 2017 and serves as a reference customer and early adopter.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Laerdal Medical: Global leader in medical simulation, producing high-fidelity patient simulators (SimMan, SimBaby) and resuscitation training solutions used by hospitals, nursing schools, and EMS agencies worldwide. Directly competes with PerSim in the same customer segments (EMS, nursing, physicians) but through a traditional mannequin-based, lab-delivered model.
• CAE Healthcare: Healthcare simulation division of CAE, offering patient simulators, simulation center management software, and training services to medical schools, nursing programs, and military medical training. Competes with PerSim across EMS, nursing, and military segments with broader portfolios and deeper institutional relationships.
• Gaumard Scientific: Manufacturer of patient simulators including the HAL, Victoria, and Super Tory family used in nursing, medical, and emergency response training. Directly comparable to PerSim as a patient-simulation hardware vendor targeting similar institutional customers in nursing and emergency medicine.

Direct peers

• SimX: VR medical simulation platform used by hospitals, nursing schools, and EMS agencies for immersive clinical scenario training. The most direct competitor to PerSim in terms of technology category (XR-based patient simulation) and target use cases (EMS, nursing, in-situ clinical training).

Emerging players

• FundamentalVR: VR surgical training platform with haptic feedback, used by medical device companies and teaching hospitals for procedure-specific simulation. Comparable as an AR/VR medical training peer, though focused more on surgical skills than whole-body patient scenarios.
• Osso VR: VR surgical training platform used by surgeons, residents, and medical device companies for procedure rehearsal. Comparable as an XR medical training peer competing for similar institutional training budgets, though focused on surgical specialty content.
• Surgical Science: Developer of virtual reality simulators for medical training, including endoscopic, endovascular, and ultrasound simulation. Comparable as an XR-based medical simulation peer selling to hospitals, academic centers, and medical device companies.
• VirtaMed: Swiss developer of VR-based medical training simulators for endoscopy, laparoscopy, and arthroscopy procedures. Comparable as a high-fidelity medical simulation vendor, though with a procedural/specialty focus rather than whole-patient scenarios.
• PrecisionOS: VR orthopedic surgical training platform used by residents, surgeons, and medical device companies. Comparable as an XR-based healthcare training peer, particularly in surgical and procedural education segments that may overlap with PerSim Plus trauma content.

Others

• Education Management Solutions (EMS): Provider of simulation center management software (SimCapture) used by nursing schools, medical schools, and hospitals to record, debrief, and assess simulation-based training. Complementary to PerSim as the typical software stack used by simulation centers that may also buy PerSim hardware.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MedCognition, Inc.