Often when Apple's Vision Pro is discussed, the device's impressive specs are praised. However, there is often some debate about whether the device has enough practical use cases. Can it add value that other computing devices don't offer? It turns out that a group of medical professionals have found that Vision Pro is extremely useful for performing surgeries in the operating room.
San Diego team tests several medical applications for Vision Pro, including surgery
At the University of California Santiago, Horgan and other surgeons have reportedly performed “more than 20 minimally invasive surgeries” using Vision Pro.
Andrew R. Chow writes for TIME:
In previous years, Horgan had tried other headsets like Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens and found them to be lacking in resolution. But he tested the Apple Vision Pro before it was released and was immediately impressed. Horgan applied for approval from the UC San Diego Institutional Review Board, which gave the green light for the devices. In September, he performed the first surgery using the Apple headset, to repair a paraesophageal hernia. “We were all blown away; it was better than we expected,” Horgan says.
In the past few weeks, UC San Diego’s minimally invasive surgery department has performed more than 20 surgeries using the Apple Vision Pro, including reflux and obesity surgeries. All doctors, assistants, and nurses wear the headsets during procedures. No patients have dropped out of the trial yet, Horgan says.
Horgan notes that one of the key benefits, interestingly, is that it reduces the risk of injury to the surgeons themselves.
That's because these minimally accessible procedures typically involve looking between the patient on the table and a monitor located somewhere nearby. “About one-fifth of surgeons surveyed said they would consider early retirement because their pain was so frequent and unpleasant.”
Vision Pro isn't just being used during active surgeries. The UC San Diego team is also testing it to create 3D X-ray images.
The team is expected to publish papers documenting the benefits of the headsets in healthcare settings in the coming years.
Christopher Longhurst, chief clinical and innovation officer at UC San Diego Health, said, “We believe this will become the standard of care in operating rooms around the world in the coming years.”
Would you approve of surgery performed with the Vision Pro? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
