Virtual reality system helps surgeons, reassures patients – Stanford Medical Center Report

The three-dimensional aspect of the imagery eases surgeons planning and improves the accuracy of the surgery, with the aim of producing safer procedures. We can plan out how we can approach a tumor and avoid critical areas like the motor cortex or the sensory areas, said Steinberg, professor and chair of neurosurgery. Before, we didnt have the ability to reconstruct it in three dimensions; wed have to do it in our minds. This way its a three-dimensional rendering.

Steinberg noted that in Rodonis case, an artery was attached to the top of the aneurysm. You couldnt see it on conventional imaging, he said. Had I not known about it, it could have been a real disaster.

To show patients whats going on inside their skulls, Malie Collins, MS, senior program lead for the VR program, rolls a mobile unit, complete with headset, into an examination or hospital room. Being able to see the problem in three dimensions reassures them, she said, adding that its especially useful for young patients or those who dont understand English well. She can also download the imagery onto a thumb drive and give it to the patient as a souvenir.

Traditionally, doctors can show their patient a standard physical model of the brain or of the spine and say, On this model, imagine your tumor is located here, she said. But with VR, we are able to immerse patients in their own anatomy, so they can very clearly get a sense of whats going on.

Stanford Medicine doctors are using the VR technology for the brain and spinal cord because these organs are stable and lend themselves to imagery unlike other body parts, which move with blood flow and breathing. Collins said the technology may soon be available for the rest of the body.

Surgeons typically use video feeds while they are operating, but the new VR technology adds a three-dimensional view which they can superimpose on the real-time video. It has much, much more detail, said Steinberg, the Bernard and Ronni Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor in Neurosurgery and Neurosciences. For Rodonis surgery, I had the 3-D rendering of her anatomy and could match that up with the surgical microscopic view, something I cant do with any other technology.

Veeravagu said some patients have chosen Stanford over other nearby hospitals solely because of the VR technology. This software really helps them understand what it is they are about to undergo, he said. Seeing it on the screen, in 3-D, really helps put a patients mind at ease.

It certainly did for Rodoni. Knowing where her aneurysm lay, and how Steinberg would repair it, helped calm her as she faced her third brain surgery. I knew that Dr. Steinberg would be able to see the same thing I saw, and he wasnt going to run into any surprises, she said. Rodonis surgery went smoothly and she was discharged from the hospital within two days, her aneurysm gone.

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Virtual reality system helps surgeons, reassures patients - Stanford Medical Center Report