AR Surgical Technology Translates Complex 2D Medical Imaging to Enhance Accuracy

Surgeons often have to switch their focus between a patient’s data displayed on a screen or clipboard and the patient themselves during procedures. But that is about to change. Surgeons can now utilize an augmented reality (AR) headset that projects data directly onto the patient’s body during surgery, offering a visual guidance system that aids in complex operations like brain tumor removal and helps minimize errors.

The SurgicalAR from Medivis (New York, NY, USA) is an image-guided visual operating system designed to streamline clinical workflows. This AR surgical platform marks a significant advancement in surgical technology by translating complex 2D medical imaging data, such as MRI and CT scans, into 3D interactive visualizations derived from actual patient DICOM scans. These 3D visuals are then overlaid on the patient’s body using Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 head-mounted display (HMD), providing surgeons with an intuitive understanding of the anatomy they are operating on.

Image: The AR tech allows for sub-millimeter accuracy, helping to potentially reduce risks (Photo courtesy of Medivis)

This technology reduces the need for surgeons to alternate between views, offering an immersive and more confident approach to surgery. It offers multiple registration modes for faster, more efficient preoperative planning such as the first-of-its-kind AI-based Automatic Registration for speed and accuracy, Trace Registration for manual precision, and Landmark Registration for anatomical dependability. Additionally, SurgicalAR reveals regions of interest with the STL model importer, allowing surgeons to see the model-based surgical plan right in front of them, similar to customized 3D printing.

"Merging augmented reality with medical imaging and computer-assisted surgery marks a transformative era in real-time decision making, and a pivotal moment in the evolution of healthcare technology,” said Dr. Christopher Morley, President and co-founder. “The macro-trends are clear, and our commitment to making augmented reality a standard of care is at the center of what lies ahead."