Zimmer Biomet places mixed reality in the surgical suite
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowScience fiction is joining real-world technology in the “Orthopedic Capital of the World,” with hologram technology for hip implant surgery. Warsaw-based Zimmer Biomet Inc. (NYSE: ZBH) is partnering with Surgical Planning Associates Inc., a Boston-area medical technology company, to market the first FDA-cleared mixed reality navigation system for total hip replacement. The technology allows surgeons to use high-tech goggles to visualize a hologram of the patient’s pelvic anatomy during surgery.
In an interview with Business of Health Reporter Kylie Veleta, Zimmer Biomet Chief Science, Technology and Innovation Officer Dr. Nitin Goyal said HipInsight takes the precision of implant placement to a new level.
“Previously, surgeons used to be really comfortable with just placing implants and doing procedures by your eye, by your experience,” said Goyal, who calls the technology a generational change. ”I think that new surgeons, as they come out, are demanding precision with implant placement, and in the way we do procedures.”
The technology gives orthopedic surgeons a three-dimensional image of the targeted area. The system provides a detailed roadmap for what Zimmer describes as “accurate and efficient implant positioning.”
Surgeons can overlay images in real time on the patient anatomy. Goyal says the images are reminiscent of the Tom Cruise futuristic thriller ‘Minority Report.’
“You’re interacting with holograms and the surgeon’s immediate response is usually, ‘Wow, this is incredible, because you’re…seeing inside even before you’ve cut skin,’” Goyal said.
The technology is portable. Goyal says that means HipInsight is not limited to large medical centers. Small surgery centers could benefit from the system.