Royal London Hospital Pioneers VR Surgery

In what was a global first, yesterday Dr Shafi Ahmed- a cancer surgeon at the Royal London Hospital- continued to pioneer VR surgery after broadcasting the first live surgery in virtual reality ever seen, he has used such technology before and is a firm endorser with Google Glass used for a similar experience in 2014 before its demise.

The live surgery is courtesy of a quite impressive effort between Barts Health, Medical Realities, Dr Ahmed’s own VR healthcare training enterprise and Mativision. The stream was open to viewing for thousands of medical students and whilst the Oculus struggles to get its feet anywhere near the ground it is Google’s 10 pound Cardboard and sponsored cheaper alternatives that are actually turning heads, opening the technology up through an affordable and easy-to-use technique for thousands to exploit. The patient was a British man in his 70’s with colon cancer and is to be streamed mainly for educational purposes in Universities around the world, gifting them the opportunity to observe some of the finest surgeons from thousands of miles away. It is a testament to the competence and opportunistic nature of this new age of technology, filmed on two 360 degree cameras broadcast a minute behind real-time in order to compensate for any unforeseen complications.

The images allow for viewers to zoom-in in their own time whilst having the freedom to move around the theatre with ease. It is not just a teaching matter though as Dr Ahmed had assistance from selected students who had been specially provided with VR headsets in a seminar format to help him through the operation, providing not just a visual experience but an interactive one. Read more here...