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The first photo of the Apple Vision Pro being used in Surgery, taken in Orlando
2 Major Takeaways from First to Use Apple Vision Pro in Surgery
Orlando resident and world-renowned Neurosurgeon, Dr. Robert Masson, became the first surgeon to successfully use Apple’s Vision Pro in an operating room just 3 days after the product's release.
As a metro area that is rooted in embracing new technologies in the pursuit of grand possibilities, Masson’s approach to revolutionizing the operating room is on par with the cultural identity that continues to rise for Orlando.
In our story on Dr. Robert Masson last year, we discovered his passion for human performance and how it shapes everything he does both personally and professionally. With his company, eXeX, he’s using modern immersive technology to build software that leads to lower costs for the patient and higher performance and efficiency for surgical teams.
eXeX has been used in hundreds of surgeries across the globe since its development and has utilized Microsoft’s HoloLens as the hardware of choice in each operating room. After 5 successful surgeries on Monday with the Vision Pro, Dr. Masson had a few real world takeaways that differentiate the products and can help offer insight to medical professionals who are interested in how the Vision Pro may be used in the medical field.
First Takeaway
The Vision Pro is designed to be a personal headset and HoloLens is designed to be an enterprise headset.
“Let's say you're in a surgery with four techs. If you wear corrective lenses, forget it. You would have to take the lens out, put the other lens in and fiddle with it, for each tech. The battery life is also an issue for surgical cases lasting more than 2 hours.” - Masson
Second Takeaway
The HoloLens is a look through device whereas the Vision Pro is a camera through device.
“The cameras aren't able to zoom in on the fine print in front of you because they’re too busy balancing the global vision of the whole room. They have done a brilliant job of getting a smooth macro view of the space, at the expense of the extreme and small detail. This is an opportunity for improvement, particularly for assessing product and inventory choices, sizes, and features.” - Masson
As a medical professional and pioneer in surgical tech, it is imperative for Dr. Masson and his team to evaluate the use of technology and be aware of its shortcomings in order to achieve higher human performance in the operating room. He sees an overwhelming positive future for the Vision Pro and sees that in some cases the hardware may be a great choice. As far as the hardware he recommends, the HoloLens will remain the main product, but eXeX will be made available for the Vision Pro as well.
Dr. Masson notes that the Vision Pro does an exceptional job at expressing the immersive visual imaging of digital twins which have the ability to create customized care plans designed specifically for each patient.
“Every surgery for every surgeon is a unique and personalized configuration. Creating a ‘digital twin’ of each unique surgery, affords incredible opportunity to streamline, organize and support effortless set up and workflow in a way that has never been possible before”
