There has been quite a bit of discourse about where and when people would like to see AI and other tech being used to improve our lives – and places we definitely want it to stay out of, like pretty much all forms of art.
I’m not sure I’ve seen people talking about doctors relying on it to perform surgery, but here we are.
The UK surgical team utilized the Apple Vision Pro to assist in a spinal surgery that was a success.
The device was worn by assisting surgical scrub nurse who used software called eXeX to access “surgical setup and the procedural guides from within the sterile field of the operating theatre.”
The surgeons weren’t wearing the goggles, just to be clear.
The headset offered the operating room staff hands-free access to documents and other procedure-related information. One of the surgeons involved, Dr. Syed Aftab, is grateful for that.
“It’s a real privilege to be the first team in the UK and Europe to use this software within surgery, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this technology advances and the impact it can have across hospitals in the UK.”
Doctors have embraced things like VR-enabled modeling in study and training for years. It can help them simulate surgeries and smaller procedures, and let them try out a few options before deciding on the best course of action.
Apple included applications in healthcare in a recent press release, so this was something that was always on their radar, according to VP of Worldwide Developer Relations Susan Prescott.
“The imagination and drive of our developers, combined with the technical capabilities of visionOS, are igniting new possibilities for physicians, frontline workers, and even students, and we can’t wait to see what’s to come.”
Vision Pro’s design is especially useful in scenarios like this, since they allow you to still see the world outside of the goggles.
Welcome to the future.
I think this might be one place we can all agree that technology assistance might be welcome.
If you enjoyed that story, check out what happened when a guy gave ChatGPT $100 to make as money as possible, and it turned out exactly how you would expect.
