Amsterdam UMC performs first brain surgery with Hololens
Last week, Amsterdam UMC performed the world’s first brain surgery using 3D glasses called Hololens. These glasses enable neurosurgeons to navigate more accurately to the correct location in the brain.
The mixed reality Hololens glasses were used to place a drain in the ventricle. A procedure that uses a kind of straw to remove excess cerebrospinal fluid. This operation is performed on hundreds of patients every year, but in 2 out of 10 cases, brain surgeons puncture the wrong spot.
Surgeons can put on the glasses, after which the HoloLens projects a 3D image of the brain – a hologram – onto the real-world view in front of them. This should make it easier to insert the needle correctly on the first attempt. A clinical study by Amsterdam UMC and UMC Utrecht will have to determine whether this is indeed the case.
Neurosurgeon Maarten Bot describes the use of the Hololens as similar to car navigation. “The current method is a bit like seeing the route in advance, but not being able to look at it while driving. With the hologram, you can see where you are and where you need to go while driving, without taking your eyes off the road.”
Hololens
Two years ago, Amsterdam UMC began preparing heart and brain surgeries based on 3D images using the Hololens, developed by American software manufacturer Microsoft. Since then, the glasses have also been used in medical education. Now, permission has also been granted to use the technology for brain surgery.
The Hololens is not only used in medicine but also in archaeology, for example. Researchers can use the glasses to lift archaeological finds out of a display case to view them from all angles.
