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It is only a matter of time before AR becomes a vital and useful tool in orthopedics through holographic displays.
FREMONT, CA: Augmented Reality (AR) technology has recently gained momentum in the surgical practice. Preclinical research has offered substantial evidence that AR might be a helpful tool for intra-operative guidance and decision-making. AR has been applied to an extensive spectrum of orthopedic procedures, like tumor resection, arthroscopy, fracture fixation, and component's alignment in total joint arthroplasty. The current study aimed to summarize the present state of AR's application in orthopedics, providing future directions and perspectives concerning potential further benefits from this technology.
AR is a display technique that integrates the real world with the virtual world. It enables digital image planning information to be coupled with the surgeon's view of the real world. This technique offers surgeons X-ray vision without using an X-ray machine, enabling them to visualize parts of the patient's anatomy that are not usually exposed during a surgical procedure. AR can increase the surgeon's view of unexposed bones and other tissues during surgery while leveraging less invasive techniques. These visualization devices will enable the surgeon to view pre-operatively decided locations of incisions and real-time medical images with spatial alignment during surgery.
In the virtual reality world, video gamers visually enter simulated worlds without leaving the physical environment. Researchers have started to use the same technology to gain intimate anatomic views in orthopedics practices. Structures once saw invasively, such as ligaments or bones — become 3D images projected onto patients. AR technology builds upon computer-based navigation platforms. This technology may be seen as the next generation of computer navigation systems, as it could transform orthopedic medicine and some specialty areas.
The idea of learning to operate on a virtual patient, the surgical equivalent of the flight simulator, has been around for years, but recently has virtual technology has become potent enough for surgical simulators to become a practical option. The latest devices have touch-feedback systems that allow practicing surgeons to see and hear their virtual patients and feel the sensation of pressing a scalpel against muscle.
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