Vision Pro: A surgical instrument in waiting
Apple’s Vision Pro continues to blast a door into medicine. The UC San Diego now says it has become the first US clinic to test potential use of apps on Apple Vision Pro during surgery.
Medical is very invested in Vision Pro
I’m not entirely certain the claim is correct – as I wrote here, a company called eXeX has already claimed to use the device during surgery, and UC San Diego has been using AR in surgery since 2021.
There is plenty of additional activity going on in the field of applied Vision Pro in medicine, while Sharp Healthcare has been engaged in extensive research in this field at its Spatial Computing Center of Excellence, which is also situated in San Diego.
All of this is a trend. A tebra survey earlier this year told us that 75% of US healthcare professionals are open to using the devices to do their work. Apple has even published a report detailing some of the ways they do just that.
A major feasibility study begins
The latest visionOS news from UC San Diego is that the institution has completed two months of testing of the device and have now begun a more intense feasibility study into how Vision Pro can be used during surgery.
“This study is investigating whether spatial computing technology can enhance the surgical experience. Using an app that can stream a video feed from other devices, Apple Vision Pro can display the patient’s medical imaging, vital signs and the surgical camera view in real-time to guide decision making while the surgeon operates in a more ergonomic position,” said Santiago Horgan, MD, Chief of Minimally Invasive Surgery at US San Diego Health and Director of the Center for the Future of Surgery.
“With the successful completion of the first surgery using an app on Apple Vision Pro, we may identify new applications in health care technology,” said Christopher Longhurst, MD, executive director, executive director, Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, and chief clinical and innovation officer, UC San Diego Health.
“The knowledge learned will potentially enhance the surgical experience and pave the way for transformative advancements in medical practice.”
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