14 votes

Extended reality is radically changing the world of medicine

5 comments

  1. [3]
    Omnicrola
    Link
    Disclosure: I work on one of the teams involved in this effort. It's super exciting to see new tech being leveraged to help people in a real, tangible way. This is one of the reasons I took this...

    Disclosure: I work on one of the teams involved in this effort.

    It's super exciting to see new tech being leveraged to help people in a real, tangible way. This is one of the reasons I took this job, was to have my job have more meaning to me and feel like I was contributing to the world in a more fulfilling way.

    A couple months ago, Cohen donned PPE and a Hololens headset and entered the room of a very sick COVID-19 patient who needed to be put on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) life support.
    ...
    Only one set of PPE was used, and only one person risked exposure. For students who are going through medical school during a pandemic, this technology could mean access to powerful bedside training from the safety of their homes.

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      Could you say a little more about what’s actually being done? It sounds like they used it for some kind of Zoom demo, but it’s not clear in the article whether it’s used routinely by doctors...

      Could you say a little more about what’s actually being done? It sounds like they used it for some kind of Zoom demo, but it’s not clear in the article whether it’s used routinely by doctors anywhere, or for teaching.

      3 votes
      1. Omnicrola
        Link Parent
        So they've actually used it a few different times in slightly different configurations. Overall, there is a recurring Grand Rounds between some doctors at Michigan Medicine, and the Imperial...

        So they've actually used it a few different times in slightly different configurations. Overall, there is a recurring Grand Rounds between some doctors at Michigan Medicine, and the Imperial College London.

        In one scenario, they took that Hololens into a patient room and everyone else watched. So essentially a glorified Zoom meeting, like you said (but using Microsoft Teams).

        For some other scenarios like the 3D CT scan they mention at the beginning, other people could join both in 2D or join with their own Hololens. When joining via Hololens you can see the same model the other person sees and examine it yourself as if you where both standing in the same room manipulating it.

        This is definitely not common or routine, and AFAIK we are one of the first places to do this in a medical setting. The technological setup is not hard, it's using 100% off-the-shelf software and hardware. The big hurdle right now is the expense, Hololens' are not cheap and not a lot of hospitals have extra budget to dedicate to purchasing the equipment and setting it up. It's like being the first person to buy a telephone. Great awesome technology, but who are you going to talk to when almost nobody else has it?

        8 votes
  2. [2]
    patience_limited
    (edited )
    Link
    Coincidentally, the spouse just had a heart valve replacement at University of Michigan Hospital less than 2 weeks ago. Absent the modern imaging technologies referenced here, it's highly probable...

    Coincidentally, the spouse just had a heart valve replacement at University of Michigan Hospital less than 2 weeks ago. Absent the modern imaging technologies referenced here, it's highly probable he would have just dropped dead at some point in the next year or so.

    As in, the U of M surgeon looked at the 3D CT scan and said his chances of death without immediate treatment were "yes". The existing congenitally defective bicuspid valve first found about two months ago was all but made of limestone at this point, confirmed in the surgery (which also revealed another repairable congenital heart defect that contributes to stroke risk).

    Previous tests had been equivocal enough that his local cardiologist wanted to wait for valve replacement until the condition was more symptomatic (!). It would have been dandy if there hadn't been a plane flight or 4 hour drive required to find out that was a bad strategy.

    u/Omnicrola, thank you from us to you and the rest of the team!

    5 votes
    1. Omnicrola
      Link Parent
      Appreciate the thanks but I'll take only a sliver and pass the rest along. Other people were the main drivers of this project, I was at most occasional support at a distance. I really hope to get...

      Appreciate the thanks but I'll take only a sliver and pass the rest along. Other people were the main drivers of this project, I was at most occasional support at a distance. I really hope to get more involved in the next few years as COVID restrictions relax.

      So glad this was able to help your spouse! That's really fantastic to learn about people directly impacted by these kinds of projects!

      5 votes