Providence Swedish advances brain surgery and presurgical planning with Microsoft HoloLens 2

 

At Providence Swedish in Seattle, neurosurgeons are using Microsoft HoloLens 2, powered by Medivis, to prepare for surgical cases. The team is a leader in worldwide adoption of the technology and recently celebrated the milestone of performing more than 100 neurosurgical cases with Holographic assistance.

 

 

Stephen Monteith, M.D., director of cerebrovascular neurosurgery at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute (SNI), recently spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the technology and how it's advancing surgical preparation. Medivis’ system (the Hololens 2) helps surgeons develop an operating plan and more clearly see the distance between brain tissue and blood vessels, for instance. SNI surgeons have used the technology to plan brain tumor removals as well as other procedures.

“We have found that using the system, we can get a better understanding of a patient’s individual anatomy and pathology,” Dr. Monteith told the Journal.

Surgeons can see three-dimensional holographic images of the patient’s anatomy created from CT, MRI, or other advanced imaging studies. These holographic images of the brain can then be overlayed onto patients in the operating room to help with surgical planning. They can guide themselves through the unique structure of a patient’s anatomy with ‘x-ray vision’.

 

 

The technology can then help the surgeons plot the safest surgical approach or perform the surgical procedure with minimal disruption of healthy tissue. Providence Swedish has applied the technology to aid in the treatment of brain tumors, cerebral aneurysms, and many other complex cerebrovascular procedures such as arteriovenous malformation surgeries to remove abnormal tangles of blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord.

 

“We are sharing our experiences so that others can learn the potential of this technology to benefit our patients. The Providence Swedish vision is health for a better world. It is important for us to share how this technology could improve patient outcomes so that we can live out our vision,” said Dr. Monteith. 

 

As hospitals move into the post pandemic world, it is crucial to find ways to improve patient outcomes and shorten hospital length of stay.

 

Using HoloLens 2, powered by Medivis technology, for surgical planning improves anatomical visualization particularly for surgically challenging lesions. Improved preoperative knowledge of an individual patients’ anatomy can help surgeries to be performed with less disruption to healthy tissue; and avoidance of critical structures. The end goal being shorter surgery time, safer outcomes, and less time spent in hospital recovery.

 

This technology was provided to Swedish though the Swedish Foundation.