Surgical technology provider Scopis has developed an AR platform that uses Microsoft HoloLens for spine surgery. Scopis developed the platform to offer greater precision and speed to surgeons, and better outcomes to patients undergoing open and minimally-invasive spinal procedures.
The innovation of incorporating Microsoft HoloLens into the Scopis Navigation Platform lets surgeons plan the positioning and alignment of pedicle screws during multiple vertebrae fixation surgeries, for example.
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 visualisation.
"Scopis’ holographic solution has the potential to make spine surgery more effective, safe, and precise," said Professor Christian Woiciechowsky, chief of the Spinal Surgery Clinic at Vivantes Humboldt Hospital in Berlin. "Integrating mixed-reality tools into surgery is a huge technological advancement toward enhancing a surgeon’s vision and may provide greater benefits to patients."
Scopis’ technology improves the accuracy of mixed reality overlay using additional 3-D position tracking. The Scopis holographic platform enables surgeons to use gestures to place virtual monitors into their visual field near the patient, so their eyes remain on the operative field.
Scopis’ technology could also benefit patients and medical professionals by reducing the radiation exposure from fluoroscopy devices that are currently used to determine the optimal position for screw placement during surgery, as well as improve surgical outcomes through more precise alignment and shorter surgery times.