Danny Goel

Danny Goel is an Orthopaedic Surgeon, Clinical Professor, and keynote speaker. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Precision OS, a software company focused on immersive experiential virtual reality-based medical education. 

Danny is a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Manitoba, an Orthopaedic Surgeon from the University of Calgary, and an MBA in Health and Life Sciences from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management. He also holds a Shoulder Fellowship from Western University and Harvard Medical School. Since 2012, he has been associated with The University of British Columbia as Clinical Associate Professor.

Danny also contributes as Industry Advisor and Columnist at the Forbes Technology Council. He has co-authored more than 30 publications, and is widely sought as a presenter on surgical techniques. His ongoing research includes novel methods of surgical education and skill acquisition to deliver safe surgery towards improved patient outcomes.

He was awarded the Gold Winner at the Reimagine Education Awards 2020 organised by the Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Awards and Conference.

Danny is a Fellow at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and Clinical Professor at UBC Department of Orthopaedics, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is also the Manuscript Reviewer at the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc., and the American Journal of Sports Medicine. He was also associated with the Clinical Faculty Advisory Council and Residency Training Committee at The University of British Columbia.  

Academic Career

Danny did his Master in Science, specialising in Cell Physiology, and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Manitoba. He specialised in orthopaedic surgery from the University of Calgary in 2008. Thereafter, he received shoulder fellowship training from Western University, Ontario, in 2009, and Harvard Medical School in 2010. Since 2012, he has been associated with The University of British Columbia as Clinical Associate Professor.

Danny is a Fellow at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a Clinical Professor at the UBC Department of Orthopaedics, Vancouver, British Columbia. He is also the Manuscript Reviewer at the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc., and the American Journal of Sports Medicine. He was also associated with the Clinical Faculty Advisory Council and Residency Training Committee at The University of British Columbia.  

Business Career

Danny has been evaluating and managing complex shoulder disorders, improving access to care. He was also actively involved in educating and training the next and current generations of surgeons. 

In 2017, he co-founded a software company focused on immersive experiential virtual reality-based medical education, Precision OS Technology. Being CEO of the company, Danny manages the use of VR and AR to help deliver meaningful education and impact global patient care. This scientifically validated immersive medical education simulation software has been active in over 30 countries and they have demonstrated the most robust evidence for the use of their software platform in learning efficiently and effectively.

Since March 2022, Danny has contributed to the Forbes Technology Council as Industry Advisor and Columnist. He has co-authored more than 30 publications and is widely sought as a presenter on surgical techniques. His ongoing research includes novel methods of surgical education and skill acquisition to deliver safe surgery toward improved patient outcomes.

Danny is passionate about sharing his wealth of knowledge with younger generations. He was associated with the Residency Training Committee at The University of British Columbia from Jan 2013-22. 

He is also the Clinical Professor at the UBC Department of Orthopaedics, Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Published works/books

Danny also contributes as Industry Advisor and Columnist at the Forbes Technology Council. He has co-authored more than 30 publications and is widely sought as a presenter on surgical techniques. His ongoing research includes novel methods of surgical education and skill acquisition to deliver safe surgery toward improved patient outcomes.

Papers of interest:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Goel+DP&cauthor_id=32939509 

Nonoperative management of a Cofield B total shoulder arthroplasty periprosthetic fracture.

Jong BY, Goel DP.

JSES Int. 2020 Jun 24;4(3):701-704. doi: 10.1016/j.jseint.2020.02.014. eCollection 2020 Sep.

PMID: 32939509 Free PMC article. No abstract is available.

Perceived vs. true glenoid anchor placement: a cadaveric comparison of the beach chair and lateral position.

Jong BY, MacDonald PB, Regan WD, Leiter JR, Sayre EC, Sasyniuk TM, Goel DP.

JSES Int. 2020 Nov 24;5(1):66-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jseint.2020.09.012. eCollection 2021 Jan.

PMID: 33554167 Free PMC article.

Shoulder surgeon perspective of surgical device representatives: a multinational survey.

Lohre R, Warner JJP, Goel DP.

JSES Int. 2020 Oct 31;5(1):158-164. doi: 10.1016/j.jseint.2020.09.005. eCollection 2021 Jan.

PMID: 33554182 Free PMC article.

Virtual and augmented reality for surgical training and simulation in knee arthroplasty.

Goh GS, Lohre R, Parvizi J, Goel DP.

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2021 Dec;141(12):2303-2312. doi: 10.1007/s00402-021-04037-1. Epub 2021 Jul 15.

PMID: 34264380 Review.

Effectiveness of Immersive Virtual Reality on Orthopedic Surgical Skills and Knowledge Acquisition Among Senior Surgical Residents: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Lohre R, Bois AJ, Pollock JW, Lapner P, McIlquham K, Athwal GS, Goel DP.

JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec 1;3(12):e2031217. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.31217.

PMID: 33369660 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

Virtual reality in spinal endoscopy: a paradigm shift in education to support spine surgeons.

Lohre R, Wang JC, Lewandrowski KU, Goel DP.

J Spine Surg. 2020 Jan;6(Suppl 1):S208-S223. doi: 10.21037/jss.2019.11.16.

PMID: 32195429 Free PMC article.

Immersive Virtual Reality for Surgical Training: A Systematic Review.

Mao RQ, Lan L, Kay J, Lohre R, Ayeni OR, Goel DP, Sa D.

J Surg Res. 2021 Dec;268:40-58. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.06.045. Epub 2021 Jul 17.

PMID: 34284320 Review.

A systematic review of clinical outcomes for outpatient vs. inpatient shoulder arthroplasty.

Perera E, Flood B, Madden K, Goel DP, Leroux T, Khan M.

Shoulder Elbow. 2022 Oct;14(5):523-533. doi: 10.1177/17585732211007443. Epub 2021 Apr 28.

PMID: 36199506 Free PMC article.

Novel Application of Immersive Virtual Reality Simulation Training: A Case Report.

Lohre R, Leveille L, Goel DP.

J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev. 2021 Nov 18;5(11):e21.00114. doi: 10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-21-00114.

PMID: 34807871 Free PMC article.

Mitigating Surgical Skill Decay in Orthopaedics Using Virtual Simulation Learning.

Lohre R, Warner JJP, Morrey BR, Athwal GS, Morrey ME, Mazzocca AD, Goel DP.

J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev. 2021 Oct 12;5(10). doi: 10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-21-00193.

PMID: 34637404 Review.

Being an orthopeadic, Danny experienced some of the major challenges that in medical education. The current mode of teaching surgery, according to him, is still heavily dependent on apprenticeship, where students learn under the tutelage of an experienced master. 

In an interview with one of the orthopedic digital platforms, he said:

“After their five years of residency training, new surgeons haven’t always received the training they need to be fully autonomous or ready for independent practice. At the same time, virtual reality has advanced to the point where the software, hardware and artistry have come together to allow us to create extremely realistic, high-fidelity experiences. That gives us the opportunity to change how surgery is taught."

This motivated Danny to lay the foundations of PrecisionOS, a medical - grade learning platform to advance surgical readiness. 

In a recent interview with Dinis Guarda, he said:

"We all learn and model things, but if there is a technology that actually shows the skills that are transferrable to the OR, that's the part to me that's most important. That means, we can take a non-expert or an inexperienced person and make them into an experienced one with an intervention like VR. 

With technologies like VR, we can make the learning more personalized, rather than time-based. We can provide a safe medium for people to make mistakes, using a principle known as productive failure, which obviously isn’t possible with a living patient.”