On February 21st, Microsoft announced in a Blog post a recently acquired partnership with medical technology developer Stryker. The partnership is intended to design new innovations for operating rooms with the use of the Microsoft’s HoloLens. As Microsoft puts it, Stryker has been working for several years on better ways to design operating rooms that can be shared by all surgical specialties by accommodating them all in a more efficient way. This process has been facilitated by transforming the holograms of the O.R. designs from 2D to 3D.
Why is this such a big deal? Most clinics don’t have the room to create an operating room for every single specialty. It’s not practical nor affordable, and because of this, most equipment, personnel, surgical tool boxes, and even lighting must be changed between one surgery and another. Performing two drastically different surgeries in the same O.R. is a necessity in many facilities, but this can be extremely difficult when the two specialties have no tools in common.
One of Stryker’s beautiful O.R.s
In order to remedy this problem, Stryker is working on new mechanisms to design operating rooms in a far more efficient way, minimizing the number of changes that must occur between one surgery and another. One problem is the communication between surgeons and the people who build their facilities. It can also be difficult for a traumatologist to explain to an architect why he needs certain space accommodations, and for architects to explain why the requests are or are not feasible, and this is where Microsoft’s HoloLens comes in.
ByDesign 3D is a tool designed by Stryker specifically for Microsoft’s HoloLens which allows real time design of operating rooms. It can be used in a conference room just by wearing a headset, and it can allow the surgeons, architects, and engineers to speak the same language, so to speak. This breaks the barrier from 2D and 3D and lets everyone involved in the design process view the blueprints, diminishing mistakes and ultimately improving the efficiency of the medical facility. You can take a look at it below.
We at ARinMED believe firmly in the future of AR/MR because it’s applicable to so many aspects of our lives. It is sculpting the medical field with each new development. Microsoft’s HoloLens, released a year ago, is proving even before being produced on the mass market that the world is ready for Augmented Reality. It’s demonstrating that specialists can use AR/MR as a tool in medicine, architecture, engineering, entertainment, and more… The possibilities are endless! Tell us what you think in the comments section below!
