3D videomicroscope at NY hospital turns neurosurgery into immersive experience

The experience of a surgeon's operation room is now comparable to that of going to a movie theater—including the use of 3D glasses.  

According to a recent article in The New York Times, Lenox Hill Hospital, part of Norwell Health, has become the first hospital in the U.S. to use the 3D neurosurgery video microscope called the Orbeye. The 3D technology is a joint venture of Olympus and Sony, made by Somed and marketed by Olympus. 

The Orbeye produces magnified, high-resolution, 3D digital images of surgical sites that allow everyone in the operating room to see a projected, live image of what the surgeon sees, according to the article. Covered by an easily applicable protective sleeve, the video microscope is able to move in all directions and angles, which puts less physical strain on the surgeons when viewing the surgical site.  

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that it’s going to be valuable,” said David J. Langer MD, chairman of neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. "But in the eyes of someone who’s more conservative and who’s not as willing to try new things, [he] may not get over the hump and be willing to do it.”