Prime Highlights:
- Corewell Health in Michigan is improving brain surgery safety and patient involvement using immersive virtual reality (VR) technology.
- The XR platform allows neurosurgeons to pre-plan surgeries with 3D simulations of patients’ own scans.
Key Facts:
- Corewell Health utilizes Surgical Theater’s XR platform to turn MRI and CT scans into interactive 3D models of the brain.
- The VR system enhances patient comprehension and enables surgeons to practice operations ahead of time.
- It’s already helping patients with complicated diseases such as tuberous sclerosis-caused epilepsy.
Key Background:
In Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, neurosurgery has come a new route with virtual reality (VR) technology. With the XR (eXperiential Reality) platform of Surgical Theater, surgeons are now able to transform routine 2D medical scans into interactive, navigable 3D models of the brain. Not only does it improve surgical planning, but it also makes it easier to understand on the part of patients and families, which means more informed consent and compliance.
With VR headsets, patients are able to virtually “fly through” their own brain anatomy, locating tumors, lesions, or structural deficits. Not only is this 360-degree visualization helpful—it’s functional. Surgeons can practice procedures in simulation beforehand, optimizing strategy and re-positioning entry points so as to avoid critical tissue and reduce risk. The method affords them a chance to stage complex surgeries to the minutest detail, minimizing surprises during real operations.
One such case is that of Halyn Fromer, a 5-year-old who was diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic disorder causing tumors in organs such as the brain. The brain tumors had caused severe epileptic seizures. Her family relocated to Michigan specifically to avail themselves of this cutting-edge technology after learning about its availability at Corewell Health. The VR experience enabled her medical team to target the most fragile tumor and schedule a successful surgery. The technology was as straightforward as a video game in terms of interface but presented genuine medical breakthroughs, her parents said.
The XR system is today employed routinely during neurosurgical interventions and is particularly advantageous in tumor and epilepsy surgery. It enables multidisciplinary teams to more easily coordinate with each other by being able to share and communicate with patient-specific brain maps as a group.
Corewell Health is not resting on neurosurgery. Expansion of the technology into craniofacial reconstruction, spine surgery, and plastic surgery is planned. Further use of VR in medicine is a paradigm shift in visualizing, practicing, and performing surgery.
