George Rappard, MD, director of the Los Angeles Minimally Invasive Spine Institute, performed the nation's first minimally invasive spine surgery using the Sony HMS-3000MT.
Here are five observations:
1. The Sony HMS-3000MT is a high-resolution heads-up display.
2. With the device, Dr. Rappard performed an endoscopic discectomy with the surgical image placed just a few inches from his eyes.
3. Even when Dr. Rappard shifted his posture or grabbed an instrument from a staff member during surgery, the high-resolution surgical field display was still in Dr. Rappard's line of sight.
4. The device projects the surgical image at a 45 degree angle from the surgeon's eye and places the image on two separate panels for each eye.
5. Dr. Rappard completed his neuroradiology, neurointerventional surgery and endoscopic spine surgery fellowships at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.