Spine surgeons at Stamford (Conn.) Health's Bennett Medical Center have completed about 12 augmented reality procedures, with several more scheduled for the coming months, Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals reports.
Stamford Health's first AR spine surgery with the technology was performed Jan. 28 by Harvinder Sandhu, MD, co-chief of New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery Spine and director of the AR spine program at Bennett Medical Center.
The AR system features a headset designed to function as if the surgeon has X-ray vision into the patient's anatomy to accurately navigate instruments and implants while looking at the patient instead of a screen.
"It makes surgery very precise," Dr. Sandhu told the publication. "The technology allows us to see through the tissue. It's a little like a GPS system — it tells us where we are and gives us a road map of where we need to go."
Bennett Medical Center is the only hospital in the tristate area currently offering an AR spine surgery system, according to the report.