Apple Vision Pro: Mixed reality headset used in spinal surgery in the UK

Apple’s mixed reality headset has had quite a successful start in the USA, but a market launch in Germany is still a long way off. The headset is designed to bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds, which is apparently working extremely well. In the UK, the Apple Vision Pro has now survived what was probably its toughest baptism of fire. There, the VR glasses were used in the operating theater and proved to be extremely useful during a spinal operation.

Apple Vision Pro used during surgery

The Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset has now been used for the first time during an operation at London’s Cromwell Hospital. With the help of the VR glasses, the team was able to successfully perform spinal surgery on a human patient.

The goggles were worn by a nurse who used the mixed reality capabilities of the headset to optimize preparation, follow the entire procedure and select the right surgical tools, for example.

Thanks to augmented reality functions, the nurse was able to combine images from the real world with additional information on virtual screens and was delighted with the new technology, which she describes as a real game changer:

“It [mixed reality technology] eliminates human error. It eliminates the speculation and gives you more confidence in the operation,” said Suvi Verho, a senior surgical nurse, in an article in the DailyMail.

VR software comes from the USA

The software used during the operation was developed by US manufacturer eXeX and was originally intended for Microsoft HoloLens. With the help of various solutions and software tools, eXeX aims to expand the possibilities of a surgical procedure.

For example, the use of AI makes it possible to prepare an optimized digital operating table, use an app to plan the operation in detail in advance or, with the help of Experience X (which was used during the operation in London), provide the operating room nurses with interactive options within a sterile operating room using a mixed reality headset.

 

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The AI-based software records every single step of the operation and, in future, should even be able to measure and display how successfully comparable operations have been performed by other surgeons in the past.

The surgeon in charge at Cromwell Hospital, Syed Aftab, is also enthusiastic about the possibilities. The software is able to transform a surgical nurse with whom he has never worked before into someone with ten years of experience.