Kopin Partners With Endopodium to Develop High-Resolution Wearable Displays for Medical Applications

Kopin Corporation, a developer of wearable computing technologies and solutions, has entered into an agreement to support the development and commercialization of the next generation of head mounted displays (HMD) designed for advanced medical and surgical applications. Kopin, and its partner Endopodium Inc., expect to market the product under a new company, HMD/MD, which will create this next generation of wearable display systems. Endopodium was founded by the team which developed and commercialized the Vista Medical HMD, the first medical grade HMD cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
 
Kopin brings to the agreement its high-resolution OLED display technology, along with the expertise gained from developing and supplying micro displays, optics and complete HMD systems to military, enterprise and consumer markets. Kopin’s knowledge of augmented reality (AR) will be invaluable in creating visualization systems for surgical and medical use, where the ability to overlay information during surgery is an ideal use of AR. The founders of Endopodium, John Lyon and Allen Newman, will seek to leverage their experience gained in working with physicians and surgeons utilizing the previous generation of surgical HMDs. These earlier displays provided invaluable insight into surgical performance with true 3D visualization and concurrent data presented in real time.
 
“Kopin has built its reputation by providing the highest performance displays to the military, enterprise and consumer markets, helping to drive the adoption of AR in applications across multiple industries,” said Paul Baker, Kopin Corporation’s senior vice president of Business Development. “We are excited to partner with the pioneers in using advanced visualization technology for medical applications, as we believe our combined expertise creates an unmatched team to develop and commercialize products that will enhance critical performance in complex surgical situations. We continue to see new opportunities for AR systems in the enterprise and safety markets, and those opportunities are now expanding to include the medical field.”
 
In commenting on the agreement, John Lyon, co-founder of Endopodium, said, “Our earlier work was limited by the size and performance level of the displays available. Now, with Kopin’s OLED technology, we can create wearable systems which are ergonomic, lightweight and high resolution to meet the critical demands of today’s medical and surgical applications.”
 
Allen Newman, co-founder of Endopodium added, “From our previous work we have developed extensive relationships with leading clinicians in the application of high-performance wearable displays in advanced procedures, and we look to leverage the knowledge of this group as we create the next generation of advanced eyewear for medical applications.”
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Kopin will provide both intellectual property and OLED displays, as well as technical expertise in configuring state-of-the-art wearable systems for mission-critical applications. HMD/MD plans to establish strategic distribution partnerships with medical technology companies that wish to include high resolution wearable displays in their proprietary systems.
 
Kopin Corporation develops and provides wearable technologies and critical components for integration into wearable computing systems for military, industrial, and consumer products. Kopin’s technology portfolio includes ultra-small displays, optics, speech enhancement technology, voice-interface and hands-free control software, low-power ASICs, and ergonomically designed smart headset reference systems. Kopin’s proprietary components and technology are protected by more than 300 global patents and patents pending.
 
Endopodium Inc. is a development stage company working on advanced visualization systems for minimally invasive surgery. Endopodium systems will include the HMD/MD wearable display, which will incorporate the latest Kopin high resolution microdisplays, high bandwidth wireless communication and voice control capability in a lightweight, ergonomic “safety glasses” form factor.