It is no surprise that the UK takes its healthcare quite seriously and within the reach of the latest tech. Recently, they invested in a company working on a chip that can help patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. Now they have utilised Apple’s latest bleeding edge innovation — Vision Pro in their healthcare, more specifically for spine surgery!
Apple Vision Pro in Healthcare Overview
We all know about Apple Vision Pro, or at least have heard about it. Just for the refresher, the Vision Pro is Apple’s mixed reality headset that comes stacked with the best of what the tech world has to offer. I had the opportunity to use the Vision Pro here at GadgetByte, and it surely feels like THE future! However, the implications for this tech — to me — seemed a bit limited. But, now a surgical team at Cromwell Hospital, London just used it for surgery, opening a whole new utility for the device!
The surgical team consisted of surgeons Fady Sedra, Syed Aftab, and lead scrub nurse Suvi Verho. They were conjointly working on the spine of a male patient. The nurse donned the headset to track the entire procedure and choose the required tools. The Apple Vision Pro was running on AI software from eXeX, which according to Aftab “is seamless and has improved efficiency within the Complex Spine team”. He adds the software had the potential to turn a scrub nurse he had never worked with — which is a regular occurrence — into someone with ten years of experience.
Moreover, the lead nurse also had good things to say about this integration. “It eliminates human error. It eliminates the guesswork.”, she says. She even went as far as to say that using Apple Vision Pro during the procedure was a “game-changer” and “gave her confidence”!
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Conclusion
This event gives us a glimpse into how we will use the Apple Vision Pro headset in the future. While the software from eXeX was pivotal in spinal surgery, several other apps to help in healthcare have also launched. For example, Stryker’s Mako SmartRobotics developed an app for surgeons conducting hip and knee replacements. More apps offering surgical training, and mental health support are also available.
With this, we can expect more and better integration of mixed reality in the health sector — which I believe will bring positive change in the care we receive!
- Meanwhile, check out our Apple Vision Pro review video:
