ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vuzix® Corporation (NASDAQ: VUZI), ("Vuzix" or, the "Company"), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, in collaboration with Ohana One, a global surgical training nonprofit organization whose mission is to cultivate high-quality surgical and anesthesia programs in developing areas around the world today, announced that the surgical aid and education virtual surgical sight smart glasses program for the NGO community is now live in 35 countries worldwide.

The Surgical Sight program, which was formally launched in October 2020 by Ohana One, utilizes Vuzix Smart Glasses and Help Lightning software to connect surgical mentors in developed areas with surgeons in developing areas around the globe to create training relationships within surgery.   As of June 2021, 835 calls have been placed over Vuzix Smart Glasses which were used to connect more than 100 surgeons across five specialty areas including neurosurgeons, general and colorectal surgeons, adult and pediatric orthopedic surgeons, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons.  The first cohort consisted of 50 surgical teams consisting of mentor and mentee pairs that spanned across 5 continents and 35 developing countries.  The goal is to have the program grow to 1,000 mentor/mentee pairs.

The surgical mentee can share his or her surgical field directly with the mentor, and the mentor sees what the mentee is seeing live in real-time using the specialized Help Lightning smart glasses software. This technology can take pictures of the live feed, record videos, freeze the image and subsequently write on top of the captured image, and mentors can use their hands to point out areas that need special attention or direction, all as if the mentor was directly operating with the mentee in live time. This enhances the training relationship between the mentor and mentee, helping the mentee to further develop their surgical skills. The smart glasses and software create an environment where the mentor can be available in live time during the surgery, preoperative planning, and post-operative monitoring.  

"The main purpose of global surgery is training activities between the mentors and mentees. Because of many reasons from the different regions, time, local laws, restriction from transportation or COVID pandemic, the experts cannot come and teach us directly. The Vuzix Smart Glasses are becoming an important channel for communication. We can receive help from our mentors remotely. The glasses work similar to a smart camera with video call and virtual reality that are suitable in the operating room. We really like using these devices to improve the quality of our global surgical programs," says Dr. Can from InterSurgeon, an Ohana One partner, Chief of Neurosurgical Department, Children's Hospital 2, Vietnam. 

"We are very pleased to work together with Ohana One and their growing list of participating surgical teams around the globe to support their virtual Surgical Sight smart glasses program in their mission to connect 1,000 mentor/mentee pairs," said Paul Travers, President and CEO of Vuzix.

About Ohana One

Ohana One cultivates high-quality surgical and anesthesia programs in developing areas around the world. We promote collaboration between organizations with similar goals and open pathways for healthcare providers to volunteer their career expertise. Our work is not limited to single mission trips, but to establishing long-term sustainable surgical training programs utilizing mentor relationships and advanced technology, including smart glasses through our Surgical Sight program. In doing so, we work alongside surgical providers to undertake increasingly more complex cases with the goal of elevating and expanding safe self-sustaining surgical care in areas that need it most. www.ohanaone.one

About Vuzix Corporation

Vuzix is a leading supplier of Smart-Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and products for the consumer and enterprise markets. The Company's products include personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable displays and augmented reality. Vuzix holds 192 patents and patents pending and numerous IP licenses in the Video Eyewear field. The Company has won Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) awards for innovation for the years 2005 to 2021 and several wireless technology innovation awards among others. Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a public company (NASDAQ: VUZI) with offices in Rochester, NY, Oxford, UK, and Tokyo, Japan.  For more information, visit Vuzix website,  Twitter and Facebook pages.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward looking statements contained in this release relate to Vuzix Smart Glasses, our business relationship with the Ohana One, future success of their Surgical Sight program, and among other things the Company's leadership in the Smart Glasses and AR display industry. They are generally identified by words such as "believes," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "should" and similar expressions. Readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are based upon the Company's beliefs and assumptions as of the date of this release. The Company's actual results could differ materially due to risk factors and other items described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Reports and MD&A filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and applicable Canadian securities regulators (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

Vuzix Media and Investor Relations Contact:

Ed McGregor, Director of Investor Relations,  
Vuzix Corporation  
ed_mcgregor@vuzix.com   
Tel: (585) 359-5985

Vuzix Corporation, 25 Hendrix Road, West Henrietta, NY 14586 USA,  
Investor Information – IR@vuzix.com www.vuzix.com

Ohana One Press Contact: 

Marchelle Sellers (marchellesellers@ohanaone.one)

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SOURCE Vuzix Corporation