HoloLens 2 swapped for Apple Vision Pro in UK spinal fusion operation
A surgical assistant in London switched from HoloLens 2 to Apple Vision Pro for an operation and described it as a groundbreaking change.
Surgery team with (left) an Apple Vision Pro (source: London Independent Hospital val the Daily Mail)
Apple has stressed the benefits of Apple Vision Pro in health care, but now surgeons at the Cromwell Hospital in London, have undertaken a spinal operation wearing Apple Vision Pro.
The surgeons themselves did not wear the headset, despite some previous reports from UK tabloid, the Daily Mail. Instead, surgical assistant and scrub nurse Suvi Verho did, using it to follow the procedure and have the correct tools ready when needed.
"It eliminates human error... it eliminates the guesswork," Verho said at the London Independent Hospital. "It gives you confidence in surgery."
While wearing the Apple Vision Pro is a first for a UK surgical unit, Verho already had experience of using a HoloLens 2 for the same kind of operation. Quoted on LinkedIn by eXeX, the maker of medical software for VR headset, she said that headsets like the HoloLens "really made [operations] more fun and enjoyable."
Nonetheless, while having praised the HoloLens 2 in 2023, Verho has now described the Apple Vision Pro as a "gamechanger" for operations. The surgeons on the team agreed, saying that meant new staff could get the benefit of more experienced ones.
"That's the idea -- that it doesn't matter if you've never been in a pitstop in your life," said surgeon Syed Aftab. "You just put the headset on."
He added that it was common for him to be assigned a new and unknown scrub nurse, and that the headset gave them ten years' worth of experience to draw on.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
The nurse isn't doing any precision work, so the quality of the pass-through is fine. This app was built for the HoloLens, and its see through qualities and AR objects were not that good. So, the app is definitely not trying to show anything small, and the quality of AVP pass-through will be perfectly fine for what the app is trying to do.
Apple does need to iterate on the hardware and software as fast as possible. I would like to see an AVP 2 this Fall with an M3, R2, WiFi 6E, and better low light performance 12MP cameras. Just a basic "internals" update like what happened with the M3 MBA just now. Probably too much to drive down the photon-to-photon latency to 6ms, but better cameras will make the pass-through better, the M3 raytracing GPU can improve on the "reality" of virtual objects, WiFi 6E can support more virtual displays; and, offer 24 GB memory, 2 TB storage configs.
They should also do a MS Windows virtual display if MS is willing to support.
Outside of a Hollywood/Broadway set/stage or Taylor Swift concert an operating room in western hospitals have as much light as you are going to get inside.
https://www.steris.com/healthcare/products/surgical-lights-and-examination-lights/surgical-lights
https://www.henryschein.com/us-en/medical/products/medical-equipment/about-medical-equipment/medical-procedure-surgical-lighting.aspx
https://kenall.com/Home/Applications/Healthcare/Surgical-Suites
It appears as if the UI of the VP is the reason for this.
Possible new software, learning and reference material coming up........With new and improved hardware/software from Apple that's how new ecosystems get built from the ground up. Iteration over time something that is beyond the capacity of the EU government.
The same nurse found using the AVP a "game changer" somehow, doing the same job. I don't see anything that implies or states that someone needs experience with the HL2 to use it and they don't with the AVP.
The article merely states that she was already familiar with the HL2 and not that she went into theatre immediately after unboxing the AVP. It may be the UI, the hardware, or both. More details would be better.
As with some of you, I'd like to know exactly what goggles of any brand bring to the table. Anything that makes an operation go more smoothly is a good thing for people on both ends of the scalpel.
While the Verho, the nurse, doesn't explicitly state that someone needs experience with HL2, she implies that the VP is a "game changer" for novice users.
Why would she state that about the VP?
We don't know the specifics, but again, implied that the VP can be used by a novice, in my opinion.
BUT
Am I the only one that did not know, and finds it a bit primitive, that "guesswork" is involved in Spinal Surgery ??