Sam Glassenberg knows a thing or two about video games.
Over the last 16 years he's worked on Star Wars video games at LucasArts, improved gaming graphics at Microsoft as leader of the company's DriectX team, and was the CEO at gaming startup Funtactix, which made mobile games for Hollywood films like Hunger Games and Hot Tub Time Machine.
Today, Glassenberg uses his video game chops in another arena: the doctor's office.
Glassenberg is the CEO and founder of Level Ex, a Chicago startup that creates video games for doctors to help them with things like learning new techniques and practicing with new medical devices. Today, Level Ex announced it has raised an $11 million Series A led by 4490 Ventures, with participation from JAZZ Venture Partners and Pritzker Group Venture Capital.
"Over a billion consumers worldwide play video games – products designed and built by combining cutting-edge tech with a deep understanding of human psychology. Doctors, in contrast, are stuck with dated formats using technology at least twenty years behind the games industry," Glassenberg said in a statement. "Now, we're finally bridging this gap."
The startup's first mobile app, Airway Ex, is designed to improve physicians' clinical skills by helping them diagnose and perform airway procedures on virtual patients. With the new funding, Level Ex plans to expand into virtual reality and augmented reality, and add new specialties like gastroenterology and cardiology. The company also plans to increase hiring in its Chicago and Boston offices.
