Augmented for surgical success—a reality now

Opportunity

Every day, surgeons rely on information from X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and other patient records to determine the surgical requirements and the procedures they will employ to achieve the safest and best outcomes, as well as the shortest, most complete recoveries possible for their patients.

Imagine if those records could easily appear right in front of the surgeon’s eyes without taking their hands, or their attention, away from the surgical field. This is all possible with augmented reality (AR) solutions for surgery. There was an urgent need in Mexico to make this leap in medical science technology and usher in a new era in surgical science for the betterment of patients and providers. On February 21, 2020, Latin America’s first surgical procedure utilizing see-through holographic lenses was performed successfully by the renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Abraham del Real.

Collaboration in action

Experts from Accenture Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Monterrey, Mexico; Skye Group; and CHRISTUS Health Excellence and Innovation Center (CEI) worked with the surgical department at CHRISTUS MUGUERZA Hospital Conchita and a renowned orthopedic surgeon to develop a new, cutting edge way to utilize Microsoft’s HoloLens technology in the operating room.

The system allows access to surgical schedules, patient records, X-rays, CT and MRI scans – along with 3D models built by the systems from the scans – during the procedure, including overlaying the scans and models on the surgical field to help the surgeon determine the best point of entry to minimize recovery time and optimize outcomes for the patient, while maintaining the sterile surgical field.

The human experience

The technology innovation team at Accenture ATC in Monterrey, Mexico, actively seeks out opportunities to collaborate on efforts that have a positive impact on society and increase access to communication and innovation in this emerging market, including participating on the health council for the city.

The development of this AR solution required a team with the insights into the best available technology, access to a vast network of innovators and the ability to collaborate with the client and ecosystem partners. After a year of working on the idea for this new system, the team was able to create and deliver an AR surgical system using Microsoft HoloLens devices to achieve all of the goals for surgical procedures. The system also provided the patient and her family with peace of mind by allowing them to see how the surgical procedure would be optimized to produce the best possible outcome.

The win-win

The introduction of see-through holographic surgical options can revolutionize surgical medicine in Mexico and Latin America.

The ability to overlay 3D models generated from CT scans and MRIs on the surgical field during the procedure maximizes the surgical team’s ability to choose the best points of entry and procedural techniques to reduce recovery time and improve outcomes for the patient.

All of this combined with the ability to educate and inform the patient about the procedures, using these new technologies, leads to a major improvement in surgical care and demonstrates that technological innovations in the area of medical science can see increasing adoption in emerging markets.

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