Scopis, a company which is the leader in medical augmented reality, mixed reality, and hybrid navigation, recently announced that they will be launching a new Holographic Navigation Platform for use in surgery. The platform uses Microsoft’s HoloLens and is the first mixed-reality surgical platform integrating HoloLens for open and minimally-invasive spine surgery.
According to a press release, the platform was developed to “offer surgeons greater precision, and speed, and better outcomes for patients undergoing open and minimally-invasive spinal procedures.” For example, with the platform, surgeons can plan the positioning and alignment of pedicle screws during multiple vertebrae fixation surgeries. Here is how the platform works in conjunction with Microsoft’s Hololens.
To use the Scopis Holographic Navigation Platform during such an operation, the surgeon wears Microsoft HoloLens glasses, which communicate wirelessly with the Scopis system. The planned positioning of the pedicle screws is projected onto the surgeon’s field of view and overlaid exactly onto the patient, creating the mixed reality experience. This allows the surgeon to find the screws’ planned positions faster and to align surgical instruments interactively with the holographic visualization.
Scopis believes that the technology can benefit patients by reducing radiation exposure from fluoroscopy devices as well as improve surgical outcomes through more precise alignment and shorter surgery times. Scopis’ holographic platform will also enable surgeons to use gestures to place virtual monitors into their visual field near the patient, so their eyes remain on the operative field.
