HoloLens allows the surgeons to take CT scans that have previously been completed and overlay 3D digital models of them onto a patient’s limb during reconstructive surgery. The technique has been used to help surgeons successfully move blood vessels from one part of the body to another to help open wounds heal.

This technology also allows surgeons to experience the data that we have collected from patients before their operation in the most realistic and natural way. They look at the leg and essentially see inside of it; surgeons are able to see the bones and the course of the blood vessels.

CT scans are conducted on the patient to map the limb before the operation begins. These are then uploaded to HoloLens, which places the images on top of the patient. Multiple surgeons wearing HoloLens headsets can also see what their colleagues are specifically looking at, allowing greater collaboration.

Mixed reality offers a new way to find these blood vessels accurately and quickly by overlaying scan images onto the patient during the operation. While the use of HoloLens in operating theatres is at an early stage, researchers are confident it could be applied to other areas of surgery requiring tissue flaps, such as breast reconstruction following mastectomy.

According to Microsoft’s News