It all started when Augmedics CEO Nissan Elimelech got a superhero-inspired idea: Wouldn’t it be cool if surgeons had X-ray vision? Several years of R&D produced the next best thing: xvision, a headset that uses augmented reality to turn a patient’s CT scan into a 3-D visualization that helps guide a spinal surgeon through operations in which every millimeter counts. The headset superimposes a 3-D image of a patient’s spine over their body, allowing surgeons to (almost) see what’s under the skin without ever looking away from the operating table. Cleared by the FDA in December 2019, the device is already in use at top U.S. hospitals like Johns Hopkins and Rush University Medical Center. —Jamie Ducharme
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
