Surgical Science

Surgical Science is a publicly traded Swedish company (Nasdaq First North Growth Market: SUS) headquartered in Gothenburg. Its significant Israeli presence is the result of acquiring the Israeli company Simbionix from 3D Systems in August 2021 for $305M. Simbionix, originally founded in 1997, now operates as Surgical Science's major R&D center located in Airport City (Lod), Israel.

The company develops virtual reality (VR) simulators for medical and surgical training. The technology allows medical residents and surgeons to practice procedures in a controlled environment using physics-based tissue simulation and anatomical modeling. Operations are divided into two segments: Educational Products sold directly to hospitals and universities, and an Industry/OEM segment where the simulation software is integrated into robotic surgery platforms developed by medical device manufacturers.

The product line, heavily driven by the Israeli Simbionix team, includes the LAP Mentor for laparoscopic surgery, the GI Mentor for gastrointestinal endoscopy, and the RobotiX Mentor for robotic surgery training. These systems combine physical hardware interfaces that mimic actual surgical instruments with proprietary VR software.

Surgical Science competes directly with companies like Mentice and VirtaMed. The 2021 acquisition of Simbionix explicitly expanded Surgical Science's footprint in the medical simulation market, particularly in the robotic surgery and endoscopic simulation sectors.

The Israeli operation in Airport City functions as a primary global R&D hub for the parent company. It houses software engineers, computer graphics developers, 3D artists, and medical specialists. Hiring in Israel typically focuses on C++ development, computational physics, computer graphics, and algorithm design to support the core simulation engine.