Press Release: Lucid Reality Labs Takes The Stevie® Awards Gold in Best Emerging Technology

For 22 years, the Stevie® Awards have been the World’s premier business distinction recognizing organizations’ achievements and positive contributions, and since 2002, the Stevie® has become one of the World’s most coveted prizes. The American Business Awards® by Stevie celebrates organizations in the US and features various categories to recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. This year, the competition received more than 3,700 nominations. The average scores of more than 240 professional experts and XR practitioners determined the winners.

The award recognizes Lucid Reality Labs as the developer of the best-emerging technology solutions that can help solve big problems, change the status quo, and open up new opportunities. “Seeing the problem” is history’s first XR Ophthalmology experience that allows healthcare practitioners, medical students, and patient associations to encounter and share the pain of people living with macular disease. The immersive experience enables us to demonstrate the immense challenges that millions worldwide living with the condition face daily.

The XR experience was developed in partnership with Roche Diagnostics UK & Ireland, a global leader in Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Varjo XR-3, one of the market’s most advanced Mixed Reality headsets, was used to develop a genuinely impactful depiction of real life with macular disease.

Macular disease can take many forms. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the most common conditions and the most significant cause of sight loss. The global number of people living with macular disease globally is estimated to reach 288 million by 2040. The condition today impacts nearly 11 million people in the US alone, with the number expected to increase twofold by 2050, with people of all ages living with the condition. Even though no cure currently exists for AMD, treatment may slow down the disease and diminish the severity of vision loss. Therefore, it requires additional awareness.

The XR Ophthalmology Macular Disease Simulation, named “Seeing the Problem,” was developed to address this lack of awareness and bring much-needed attention to this immense issue. The Extended Reality Simulation was presented to the Members of the UK Parliament, drove active communication around the eye care topic, and aimed to contribute to creating an inclusive National Strategy for Eye Care. The XR solution will be expanded globally, with the USA presentation in 2023/24.

Going beyond, the presented XR solution paves the way for technology into some currently neglected or underfunded social problems, which can be addressed using immersive technology, thus helping improve the quality of lives for millions worldwide.

About Lucid Reality Labs

Lucid Reality Labs is the World’s leading Immersive Technology company with the primary focus on creating immersive XR training & simulations for Healthcare, MedTech, Pharma, Defense, and Aerospace. The team delivered over 250 XR projects and dedicated over 1,000,000 hours to honing our technological expertise in the XR domain. Lucid Reality Labs helps businesses and institutions innovate and digitalize, delivering new tools to transform training and collaboration, upskilling and reskilling, and other functions and capabilities.