If you’re in the pre-op room and notice a nurse strapping on a Vision Pro just before the anesthesia session begins, don’t panic. Medical personnel use Apple’s augmented reality headgear as a cross-reference tool for hands-on work. According to a few surgeons and operating room (OR) nurses who have worn the Vision Pro in the surgical suite, the goggles may help remove a small amount of human error in every medical procedure.
The Vision Pro’s compatibility with real-life surgery is due to eXeX (short for eXpanded eXistence Inc.), a Florida-based mixed-reality company. ViewerX, one of eXeX’s three essential products, is often used by surgical teams to arrange and track procedures on an iPad. ExperienceX, the company’s augmented reality version of the program, now places the display in the perspective of a nurse or surgeon. According to the eXeX website, this improves organization and allows for a higher “flow state” during surgery.
The first real-world testing was conducted in the United States in early February. Dr. Robert Masson, a neurosurgeon, and eXeX’s founder and CEO used the Vision Pro to see touch-free holographic surgical setups and procedural guidance throughout five spine reconstruction surgeries.
OR nurses have also utilized Vision Pro in hospitals in London. According to Metro and the Daily Mail, one OR nurse responsible for managing surgical tools and equipment on the surgeon’s behalf utilized the $3,500 headset during spinal surgery. As the surgical team prepared for and carried out the procedure, the OR nurse used the Vision Pro to keep track of specific steps and ensure that the necessary equipment was used.
“It eliminates human error,” a lead OR nurse at London Independent Hospital said. “It eliminates the guesswork.” The same nurse also noted that the technology was a “game changer.”
While augmented reality has been used in surgery previously, Apple’s Vision Pro is a new tool for surgeons in the operating room. Medical experts have been practicing surgery and other sophisticated procedures for several years, and they have been using augmented reality and virtual reality headsets to see surgeries in three dimensions before they put on their gloves. In 2020, two procedures were conducted by neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital employing AR “X-ray vision,” which comprised holographic projections of the patients’ prior CT scans.
Additionally, two trusts under the National Health Service (NHS) are working with eXeX to integrate ExperienceX into their facilities. The eXeX website also identifies seven US hospitals as “eXeX Sites of Surgical Excellence,” including a Utah microsurgery facility and an Idaho spine and brain specialist.