Augmented Reality and Interventional Radiology: bringing new meaning to our ‘Hybrid’ OR
The Interventional Radiology (IR) and Radiology department at Cincinnati Children’s welcomes a creative approach to performing procedures. As doctors who depend on imaging to take care of patients safely and effectively, interventional radiologists frequently face ergonomic challenges during procedures. For example, the imaging screens and the X-ray control systems can sometimes be physically blocked by the imaging equipment.
In an effort to address these challenges, we have started to include a device that uses augmented reality (AR) into some of our day-to-day practice. It is a headset with special goggles (called the “HoloLens” by Microsoft) that is worn during the procedure. It allows us to see our imaging monitors and to control our x-ray systems virtually, without needing to see or touch them directly!
The technology allows us to interact with the screens and controls through eye gaze, voice, and gesture recognition. Pretty cool, right? Check out the video to see it in action!
Dr. Viet T. Le, author; Glenn Miñano, BFA, editor; Meredith Towbin, copy editor
