OR-X

Name

OR-X

Legal name

Balgrist University Hospital

Website

https://or-x.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Surgical Research and Training Infrastructure

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAHAEAL

Surgical Navigation, Robotics & Patient-Matched Instrumentation (Ortho/Spine)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Medical Devices & Diagnostics/Implants & Prosthetics (Orthopedic/Neuro/Spine/Dental)

SECONDARYEDAFAJAI

XR Assessment & Skills Verification (Performance-Based Evaluation)

Education/Education Technology (EdTech) & Digital Learning/AR/VR/XR, Simulations & Immersive Learning

Keywords

• Surgical research infrastructure
• Surgical training courses
• Medical robotics research
• Augmented reality surgery
• Surgical data science

Headquarters

HQ city

Zurich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OR-X operates a fully equipped realistic operating room (51 m²) and adjacent Skills Lab (85 m²) within Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, providing open-access surgical research, development, and training infrastructure. It delivers accredited wetlab and drylab training courses for orthopedic residents, customized industry training for MedTech partners, and houses R&D projects in surgical robotics, AI-driven imaging, AR/VR, and surgical data science. The facility is recognized as a Swiss national research infrastructure and supports the entire innovation pipeline from prototyping to clinical validation under near-clinical conditions.

Product overview

OR-X (Operating Room X) is a translational center for surgical research, development, and training embedded within Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich. Recognized as a national research infrastructure by the Swiss Federation, OR-X provides an open-access platform combining a fully equipped operating room (51 m²) and a Skills Lab with six workstations (85 m²). The infrastructure supports surgical training through wetlab/drylab courses and residency programs, while enabling R&D activities in surgical robotics, AI-driven imaging, and digital twin technology. Key research projects include FAROS (autonomous robotic surgery), TRANSFORM (surgical digital twins), PROFICIENCY (AR-based training simulators), and the ORD Initiative (open surgical data science). Training offerings range from individual surgical courses to accredited programs including the CAS in Spinal Endoscopy and Resident Curriculum with 25 annual courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OR-X Surgical Research and Training Facility Access Open-access booking of the OR-X facility including a fully equipped operating room (51 m²) and Skills Lab (85 m²) within Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich. Available to researchers, MedTech companies, and training groups for technology validation, prototype testing, and clinical validation studies under near-clinical conditions. Includes access to AI, AR/VR, robotics, surgical data science, and digital twin technologies.
• Resident Curriculum (Orthopedic Training Program) Comprehensive orthopedic resident training program with 25 drylab and wetlab courses accredited by Swiss Orthopaedics, awarding 2 CME credits each. Covers anatomy, surgical approaches, and procedural techniques. Pricing is tiered: CHF 140 per drylab course and CHF 390 per wetlab course for Zurich hospital residents; CHF 280 and CHF 780 respectively for residents outside Canton of Zurich. Package of 10 courses available at CHF 1,080 (Zurich) or CHF 2,160 (non-Zurich).
• CAS in Spinal Endoscopy World's first international university-level Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in spinal endoscopy. Combines theoretical instruction with hands-on training at the OR-X facility, targeting practicing surgeons seeking advanced specialization in spinal endoscopy techniques.
• Customized Industry Training Courses Customized training courses for MedTech industry partners conducted in a realistic OR environment with company-specific instruments and implants. Delivered at the OR-X Zurich facility for MedTech companies such as Arthrex, Medacta, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Smith+Nephew, and Heraeus. Pricing is quote-based.
• SurgeAHEAD Extracurricular Surgical Course

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,016 medical professionals trained and 210 R&D experiments conducted
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• FAROS Consortium (Sorbonne University, King's College London, KU Leuven)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021EU Horizon 2020 funded project developing surgical robots with human-like sensory capabilities for autonomous navigation in spine surgery. OR-X served as central environment for integrating and testing FAROS prototypes under realistic surgical conditions.
• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partner in PROFICIENCY project for AR-guided surgical training. ETH contributes expertise in computer vision, AI, and immersive technologies to surgical education development.
• ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in PROFICIENCY project contributing expertise in applied research and technology transfer for AR-based surgical training solutions.
• University of ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading house in OR-X national research infrastructure application. Core academic partner providing research leadership and student/talent pipeline for surgical research initiatives.
• Zühlke GroupsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and consulting partner in ORD project contributing expertise in software development and technology integration for surgical data infrastructure.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology supporter providing AI computing infrastructure (DGX systems) and expertise. Hosted NVIDIA MedTech Meet-Up 2025 at OR-X facility with over 130 participants discussing AI-driven medical technologies.
• MicrosoftsupportingTechnology or IntegrationIndustry supporter contributing technology expertise and solutions for surgical research and digitalization initiatives.
• MedactacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedTech partner providing implants and instruments for surgical training courses. Collaboration on resident curriculum including total hip replacement training using anterior minimally invasive approach.
• ArthrexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedTech industry supporter providing surgical equipment including arthroscopy towers, shavers, cameras, drill systems, and power tools for training and research activities.
• Johnson & Johnson (ETHICON)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry supporter providing surgical technologies and instruments. Hosts training courses including direct anterior approach courses at OR-X facility.
• Smith+NephewsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedTech partner providing surgical technologies and instruments for training programs at OR-X.
• HeraeussupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner collaborating on cementing technique training courses for hip arthroplasty, providing bone cement products and technical expertise.
• AugmedicoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing e-learning platform with photorealistic 3D anatomy models and AI-supported learning tools for resident curriculum preparation and training support.
• X23D AGsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing AI-based intraoperative imaging solution for real-time 3D spine modeling during surgery, featured in NVIDIA MedTech demonstrations.
• SpineGuardsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial partner in FAROS project contributing expertise in surgical robotics and sensor technology for autonomous spine surgery development.
• MedtronicsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedTech industry supporter providing surgical technologies and equipment for training and research activities.
• CurmedsupportingOthersIndustry supporter in the medical technology sector supporting surgical research and training activities.
• KairosmedicalsupportingOthersMedical technology company supporting surgical research and training programs at OR-X.
• Moving-SpinesupportingOthersSpine-focused medical technology company supporting surgical training activities.
• NeutromedicssupportingOthersMedical technology company supporting surgical research and training at OR-X.
• UnintechsupportingOthersMedical technology company supporting surgical innovation and training programs.
• ETH AI CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic AI research center collaborating on artificial intelligence applications in surgical research and training.
• SITEM (Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss institute supporting translational medicine research and innovation in healthcare.
• Technical University of MunichsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner collaborating on Surgical Data Science Workshop and research initiatives.
• University of HeidelbergsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner contributing to surgical data science and medical imaging research collaborations.
• IMT AtlantiquesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench engineering school collaborating on surgical data science research initiatives.
• BosworthsupportingOthersMedical education supporter for surgical training activities.
• MathyssupportingOthersOrthopedic implant company supporting surgical training programs.
• ArcomasupportingOthersMedical equipment supplier supporting OR-X infrastructure.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• VirtaMed: VirtaMed develops realistic surgical simulation training systems for arthroscopy, laparoscopy, and other procedures, providing a competing technology platform to OR-X's skills lab and wetlab training offerings.
• Osso VR: Osso VR is a venture-backed VR surgical training platform that competes with OR-X's AR/VR training offerings (PROFICIENCY, SDT) in the orthopedic and spine education market, with growing commercial reach across healthcare systems.
• FundamentalVR: FundamentalVR provides VR-based surgical training with haptic feedback, representing a commercialized, venture-backed competitor to OR-X's Surgical Digital Twin and PROFICIENCY systems. Targets similar surgical education and device training use cases.

Direct peers

• IRCAD: IRCAD (Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l'Appareil Digestif) operates hybrid surgical research and training centers in Strasbourg, Taiwan, and Brazil, combining realistic OR environments with technology development for minimally invasive surgery—directly parallel to OR-X's translational research and training model.
• AO Research Institute Davos: AO Research Institute Davos is a Switzerland-based translational orthopedic research facility that combines surgical technology development with surgical training and validation, sharing OR-X's orthopedic/spine focus and Swiss research infrastructure positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Surgical Science: Surgical Science is an established global provider of virtual reality surgical training simulators and software, offering a broader commercial portfolio that overlaps with OR-X's PROFICIENCY and Skills Lab training capabilities.
• 3D Systems (Simbionix): 3D Systems' Simbionix suite offers procedural simulation training for endoscopic, endovascular, and orthopedic procedures, representing a broader commercial incumbent in the same training category as OR-X's skills lab capabilities.
• Intuitive Surgical: Intuitive Surgical is the global incumbent in robotic-assisted surgery (da Vinci). OR-X's FAROS project on autonomous robotic spine surgery is a long-horizon alternative path, making Intuitive a strategic incumbent relevant to OR-X's R&D trajectory.
• Medical Education Technologies Inc. (METI / Surgical Science): Surgical Science (formerly METI) provides patient simulators and surgical training systems to medical institutions globally, representing an established commercial alternative to OR-X's hands-on training infrastructure.

Regional players

• MERIT (Medical Education Research Institute): MERIT provides hands-on surgical training using human tissue specimens in a dedicated facility, comparable to OR-X's wetlab courses, but operates primarily in North America rather than Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@OperatingRoomX
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/operating-room-x
• Instagraminstagram.com/operatingroom_x

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 OR-X