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About Realists USA
Realists AG designs and produces the RealSpine platform in Leipzig, Germany. Realists USA, Inc. sells and supports it in the United States from Columbus, Ohio. This page is who we are, where we are, and who you will deal with.
Watch
Two minutes from a RealLab session with St. Georg Hospital Leipzig. Faculty, trainees, the cartridge, no specimen.
Meet the people
Two places
Realists AG
Design, engineering and production. Every RealSpine model, cartridge and pathology is designed and produced here, in the city where the company started as a university research group in 2015. Product decisions are made here, and Dr. Luis Bernal, who founded the company, still leads product.
Realists USA, Inc.
Sales, demos and support for the United States. Greg Rhinehart runs Realists USA. He books and runs every US demo, in person or online, at your site, online or in a RealLab. Write to sales@realistsusa.com.
How we got here
The dates below are the ones Realists has published. Nothing else is filled in.
2015
Leipzig
Dr. Luis Bernal starts Realists as a university research group in Leipzig. The company is a spin off of HTWK Leipzig, funded through the EXIST research transfer program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
2026
August 4
Realists announces the RealSpine 2026 portfolio: one platform, three product families and an expanded Deformity line, and the launch of Realists USA, Inc. to bring cadaver independent spine training to the United States. Read the announcement.
2026
October 14 to 17
Realists meets US spine programs and OEM teams in a private suite away from the show floor, and launches RealImaging, its radiation free visualization for training, in the US. Book a suite session.
Who trains on RealSpine
Spine companies train their reps and their surgeons on it. Hospitals and residency programs train their residents on it. The numbers below are the ones Realists stands behind.
Countries
More than 60
RealSpine is in use in more than 60 countries.
Spine companies
The five largest in the world
The five largest spine companies in the world train on RealSpine. Realists works with each of them and favors none.
In the US
Dallas and New York
Hospitals in both cities train on RealSpine today.
Surgeons
Dr. Roger Härtl, Prof. Dr. Jin-Sung Luke Kim
Two surgeons who have operated on RealSpine and said so in writing. Read what they said.
“
High technology has to be trained with high technology simulation. That is the core idea behind everything we build. Cadavers will always matter, but you cannot standardize them, repeat the same scenario, or summon a specific complication on demand. That is the gap we built Realists to close.
Dr. Luis Bernal
CEO and founder, Realists AG. From the August 4, 2026 announcement.
How we work
01
The largest spine companies in the world train on RealSpine. The platform runs on whatever instruments your team already uses, so a program is never tied to one company's system. How OEMs use it.
02
Cartridges, modules and pathologies are added as the program grows. The platform you install for lumbar this year is the one you run deformity on next year. See the Full Modular simulator.
03
Luis says it above: cadavers will always matter. RealSpine replaces the training days that need the same case repeated, and we will tell you which of your days those are. What a cadaver lab still does.
The people
Two names. One leads the product in Leipzig, the other runs the US.
CEO and founder, Realists AG
Cadavers will always matter, but you cannot standardize them, repeat the same scenario, or summon a specific complication on demand.
Engineer, entrepreneur, and medtech executive with over 15 years of experience leading innovation, product development, and international growth in surgical training and medical technology. Luis started Realists as a university research group in Leipzig in 2015 and still leads product today. He will be in San Antonio for NASS 2026.
VP Strategic Development and Sales USA, Realists USA
Introducing Realists into the US spine industry allows us to provide a standardized training platform that produces a consistent and realistic training program for all spine procedures.
Greg runs Realists USA from Columbus, Ohio. Every US demo, in person or online, is run by him. Book time with Greg.
Where to find us
United States
540 Enterprise Drive
Lewis Center, OH 43035
United States
sales@realistsusa.com
Book a demo
Germany
Heinrich-Heine-Str. 35
04178 Leipzig
Germany
+49 341 22346765
contact@realists.de
Visit realists.de
October 14 to 17, 2026
Private suite sessions away from the show floor. Thirty minutes to operate on RealSpine 2026 and see the US launch of RealImaging.
The US RealLab is in Dallas, Texas.
Book your 30 minutes
Before you write
Is Realists USA the same company as Realists in Germany?
Realists USA, Inc. is the US company of Realists AG, Leipzig, Germany. Germany designs and produces the platform. Realists USA sells and supports it in the United States. You deal with one contact, Greg Rhinehart, and the product and engineering behind him are in Leipzig.
Where are RealSpine models made?
In Leipzig, Germany. Every RealSpine model and cartridge is designed and produced there.
Who do I talk to in the US?
Greg Rhinehart, VP Strategic Development and Sales USA, Realists USA. He runs every US demo, in person or online. Write to sales@realistsusa.com or book a demo.
Where can I see RealSpine in the US?
Book a demo with Greg Rhinehart, or meet the team in a private suite at NASS 2026 in San Antonio, October 14 to 17, 2026. RealLab locations in the US will be listed by state once Realists publishes them.
Book a demo
Thirty minutes with Greg Rhinehart, in person at your site or online. He replies with available times and brings the platform.
Book a Demo
Prefer email? grhinehart@realistsusa.com, Greg answers.