Doctors Use Virtual Reality to Prepare for Surgeries
When Felicia Luna went to the Stanford Medical Center in California, she was told doctors needed to operate on an aneurysm in her brain. And they needed to act quickly.
Doctor Gary Steinberg said the aneurysm was in danger of breaking. The operation he proposed would be very complex. Luna worried a lot about the treatment. She also wanted to know more about it.
So Steinberg decided to use virtual reality technology to improve and explain the surgical operation.
Malie Collins is program coordinator of the Stanford Neurological Simulation and Virtual Reality Center. Part of Collins' job is to create a “fly through” virtual reality video for patients. It lets them see inside their own bodies. This virtual reality trip lets doctors and students see what is wrong and how to treat it.
For Felicia Luna, that means she can put on a headset and travel through her own brain. “Now I feel like I know exactly what’s going to happen,” Luna said after watching the video.
Before the operation, Steinberg invited a class that he teaches to a room with video monitors, reclining chairs and virtual reality headsets, so he could show them how he would operate.
Steinberg was even able to “practice” just before the five-hour-long operation. The same images were available during surgery to help doctors and medical assistants.
After using the virtual roadmap, doctors successfully operated on Luna’s aneurysm.
Collins said the virtual reality tool makes the experience better for the patient, helps the doctor and assists in education. That is what “makes it unique and powerful,” she said.
In the future, Steinberg said he may be able to perform operations at a distance from the patient with the help of robotic arms. Virtual reality software can help make that possibility more likely. But, the delay between the doctor’s commands and the robot’s movement make that difficult now.
