A surgical assistant swapped out the HoloLens 2 in favor of the goggles from the iPhone maker.
A London surgical assistant recently chose to use the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset instead of the HoloLens 2 in order to complete a spinal fusion surgery. The doctor described the change as a groundbreaking one.
The device was worn by a scrub nurse
Unlike what certain reports had suggested, it wasn’t the surgeons who were wearing the mixed reality goggles. Instead, it was Suvi Verho, a surgical assistant and scrub nurse who wore the device to follow the procedure and ensure the proper tools were ready when they would be required.
“It eliminates human error… it eliminates the guesswork,” explained the London Independent Hospital surgical assistant. “It gives you confidence in surgery.”
Verho had previously used the HoloLens 2 as a tool during the same type of surgery. That said, this recent procedure represented the first time using the Apple Vision Pro headset. She said that wearing HoloLens and other similar headsets “really [operations] more fun and enjoyable.”
Verho called the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality goggles a “gamechanger”
According to the surgical assistant – who did greatly enjoy the experience of the HoloLens 2 for operations last year – the Apple Vision Pro is a “gamechanger” when it comes to surgery. Moreover, she wasn’t the only one who said so. The surgeons who made up the surgical team were in agreement with Verho’s assessment.
They said that the device would make it possible for the newer staff to gain an advantage. In fact, they stated that newer staff would be able to understand the benefit more thoroughly than those who were more experienced and used to the procedures and what is expected of them.
“That’s the idea — that it doesn’t matter if you’ve never been in a pitstop in your life,” explained Syed Aftab, a surgeon on the case. “You just put the headset on.”
Aftab went on to explain that it wasn’t uncommon to have a new or unknown scrub nurse assigned to a surgery. By wearing a mixed reality headset like the Apple Vision Pro, that member of the team would be able to gain years of additional experience in a matter of moments, he said.
