What if you had the ability to see the unseen? Thanks to recent advancements in medical technology, surgeons are able to do just that. Using a combination of augmented reality and 3-D modelling, surgeons are able to picture complex problems in multiple ways and plan around critical structures.
On Nov. 9, Mount Sinai Health System’s chair of neurosurgery, Dr. Joshua Bederson, shared his expertise as a leader in this field with Figure 1’s global community of healthcare professionals. Having recently deployed an augmented reality system in his operating room, Dr. Bederson showed how he used this advanced form of simulation technology to operate on a patient with an intracranial tumor.
See the full demonstration on Figure 1»
Here are some highlights from the one-hour event:
The anatomy of the runway versus the brain
One family medicine physician asked, “Why do you think it has taken so long for simulation technology like this to make its way into the operating room?”
According to Dr. Bederson, “Simulation has been used in aviation for a long time with great effect. However, the ‘anatomy’ of runways and jetways is far simpler to model than the complexities of the brain. It’s been difficult to detect and differentiate the fine tissues and to render them reliably.”
He added that selecting the tissues for 3-D modelling takes approximately one hour, but that rendering is “very fast.”
Varying degrees of comfort
One medical student wanted to know how long it took for Dr. Bederson to feel comfortable using augmented reality.
“I’ve grown along with the technology over several years,” said Dr. Bederson. “But I’m an old dog and the younger surgeons can probably pick it up quickly.”
While there is a learning curve for all surgeons, Dr. Bederson added that adjusting to these new layers of information hasn’t adversely affected surgical outcomes in his experience.
Augmented reality is more common than you think
As futuristic as augmented reality seems, one family medicine physician wanted to know if this technology actually reduced operating time.
“In the beginning, it added time to set up the hardware and to register the cases,” said Dr. Bederson. “But as we became facile with the new platform, it’s been integrated into my normal workflow.”
In fact, augmented reality and simulation technology are being integrated into more areas of the operating room than one might imagine. When one family medicine resident wanted to know how long it would take for this technology to become commonplace, Dr. Bederson replied that aspects of it already were.
“To a certain extent it’s already getting out there,” he said. “For example, [there is] surgical navigation, which is a form of image-based simulation.”
You can find all of the cases from this Grand Rounds on the Figure 1 app. Interested in learning more about Figure 1? Email us at communications@figure1.com
(Faces and other information that could identify a patient are strictly prohibited on Figure 1. Because of the educational value and public nature of this case, an exception was made with the consent of the patient and the agreement of all parties.)
