Augmented reality could turn surgery into 3D experience, increase patient safety

Applying augmented reality (AR) to surgery may ultimately decrease medical errors made both inside and outside the operating room, according to an article published online March 20 by the Harvard Business Review.  

Authors Sarah Murthi, MD, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Maryland's R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and Amitabh Varshney, dean of the college of computer, mathematical and natural sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park, discussed what they've discovered about using AR applications during surgery from their research conducted at the Maryland Blended Reality Center's "Augementarium."

Overall, AR technology could allow surgeons to project 3D images of surgical plans onto patients during an operation, increasing quality, safety and reduce patient costs, according to the authors. 

"In envisioned application, a surgeon using an AR headset such as Microsoft’s HoloLens would be able to see digital images and other data directly overlaid on her field of view. In such a scenario, the headset might display a hovering echocardiogram with vital signs and data on the characteristics of the patient’s aneurysm directly above the surgical field," Murthi and Varshney wrote. "The surgeon needn’t look away from the patient to multiple different displays to gather and interpret this information."  

Hospitals rely on elective operations as a consistent source of income, so the pressure to keep operating rooms continuously full is high in most hospitals. Because of this, Murthi and Varshney believe that small, emergent procedures having to be done outside the OR in an ICU or emergency department could greatly benefit from AR technology by reducing patient costs and redundant data imaging screens.  

"AR can provide a shared display, eventually reducing the need for a dedicated monitor for each aspect of a patient’s data, while providing a place where physiological data from multiple sources can merge in real time," Murthi and Varshney wrote.