Augmented reality (AR) technology increasingly applied to the medical field
In recent years, augmented reality (AR) devices have been widely applied in the medical field. In the field of plastic surgery, it has developed in maxillofacial surgery, which aims to improve function (vision, bite, etc.) and morphology.
For example, orbital fractures caused by strong external forces on the eye can result in double vision. Fractures of the cheeks and jaws (maxilla and mandible) can cause left-right differences in facial appearance and abnormal occlusion. We need to avoid damaging vital nerves and blood vessels when returning fractured bones to their original position, but because they are invisible from outside the body, blind surgical manipulation may be necessary. This can lead to complications such as sensory abnormalities and excessive bleeding.
Therefore, by marking the location of nerves and blood vessels in advance based on CT data taken before surgery, and using a navigation system during surgery, surgical operations can be performed on the monitor while confirming nerves and blood vessels that could not be seen visually. It is hoped that this AR technology will be widely used in the medical field to ensure safe and reliable surgical operations.
Introducing AR Technology into the Field of Plastic Surgery
We have also introduced AR technology to assist in craniofacial surgery. This is a CT image of a patient with fibrotic osteodysplasia, a disease that causes excessive bone formation in the right lower jaw mandible, resulting in a left-right difference in appearance (Fig. 1). We make an incision in the mouth to remove the excess bone, but it is necessary to improve the left-right difference without damaging the sensory nerve in the lower jaw. Therefore, by marking the nerve (Fig. 2: blue) and inverting the normal side (Fig. 2: red) in a preliminary simulation, the position of the drill tip (Fig. 2: green) can be observed in real time during surgery to ensure safe shaving.
Currently, the operation is performed while looking at both the surgical field (the area visible to the eye) and the monitor, but in the future, it is expected that smart glasses well be worn and computer graphics (CG) will be overlaid to develop virtual reality (VR) technology that will allow the operation to be performed with the same field of vision.