Dr. Brian Fiani is the First Neurosurgeon to Host a Virtual Reality Spine Surgery Education Session in the Metaverse - OrthoSpineNews

January 2, 2023 /OrthoSpineNews/ – On December 2022, past was made by Dr. Brian Fiani erstwhile helium hosted a virtual world spine country seminar successful the Metaverse for 50 spine surgeons from 10 antithetic countries. The objection was a monolithic success. Dr. Fiani was 1 of the precise archetypal neurosurgeons to people connected virtual world erstwhile helium published his insubstantial “Virtual Reality successful Neurosurgery: “Can You See It?”-A Review of the Current Applications and Future Potential” successful aboriginal 2020, a insubstantial with much than 20,000 views and cited implicit 1600 times to-date. Since then, helium has continued to beryllium a pioneer successful the improvement of surgical exertion and an advocator for its usage successful the operating room. Dr. Fiani has ever been intrigued by the powerfulness of innovation and what it offers surgeons and patients. As a boy, helium was a originative thinker coming up with caller inventions and helium credits this passionateness arsenic 1 of his motivations for pursuing spine surgery. He has worked with respective companies implicit the years to make bundle and hardware components for intraoperative exertion that has been breaking barriers successful the operating country and expanding capabilities. Already a patent holder, Dr. Fiani’s eventual extremity with surgical exertion is to amended diligent attraction successful the operating room.

Dr. Fiani says that exertion and innovation are perpetually evolving and caller developments support the modernization of medicine interesting. To him, virtual world is the gathering spot of creativity and science. Virtual world gives participants the quality to bash things that we cannot bash successful the existent world. Some of the peculiar surgical teaching features see visualizing 3-dimentional reconstructions pre-operatively, surgical planning, surgical simulations, and post-operative investigation each portion decentralizing surgical acquisition truthful that participants tin beryllium anyplace successful the satellite astatine that peculiar time.

The virtual world seminar was held astatine the New York City Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (NYC-MISS) Symposium successful New York City, New York, USA connected December 15-17, 2022. During the 2-day acquisition plan, participants activated headsets that produced 3-dimentional visualization capabilities and manus controls for limitless question and enactment features.

50 spine surgeons from 10 antithetic countries joined! Over 30 of the world’s masters successful spine country joined successful the Metaverse and different 20 spine surgeons chose to ticker without headsets due to the fact that the virtual world satellite was simultaneously broadcasted into the existent satellite auditorium screens by 1 of the representatives wrong the Metaverse.

In preparation, Dr. Fiani worked with a institution named Non Nocere from Germany. The institution gains its sanction from the phrase “primum non nocere” which successful Latin means “first, bash nary harm”. They shipped each the state-of-the-art headsets and manus controls to New York City for the event. They overnight mailed him a headset and controls to signifier 1 week earlier the event. The programme technicians and income representatives from Germany and Turkey trained him and helped him signifier utilizing the Metaverse features for respective days. It was impervious of merchandise that they met successful the Metaverse from 3 antithetic countries astatine the aforesaid clip to execute a goal. The institution made the process precise user-friendly for him. They downloaded preoperative and postoperative imaging, arsenic good as, his slideshow presentations from 4 surgical cases. The 4 surgeries were categorized arsenic degenerative spine surgery, spinal tumor surgery, deformity surgery, and revision surgery. Within the fewer days of preparation, helium became comfy with the Metaverse surgical auditorium which functions arsenic a lecture hallway and virtual anatomy laboratory and besides the virtual world operating country which functions arsenic a surgical simulator lab.

Dr. Fiani commented that the strategy was precise intuitive and aft a fewer minutes you consciousness astatine 1 with the virtual world satellite and its ongoings. The manus controls marque maneuvering elemental and the actions springiness haptic feedback. The strategy is instantaneously responsive without glitch oregon delay.

Dr. Fiani says that virtual world is transforming spine country education. During the Covid-19 pandemic and adjacent afterwards, radical were gathering connected Zoom arsenic a level for meetings. He believes virtual world is the earthy improvement for enhancing engagement by creating a abstraction for discussions and interaction. Decentralizing surgical acquisition allows planetary information which is peculiarly important successful the fields of medicine and surgery. The virtual world Metaverse allows surgeons to simulate surgeries earlier performing them.

Virtual world allows the presenter and participants to beryllium engaged successful 1 spot portion logging connected from anyplace successful the satellite internationally. Reconstructed models based connected diligent imaging allows amended visualization of simulated spine models and signifier surgeries beforehand. Surgical simulation tin assistance provided repetitious grooming successful a harmless situation to make a quicker much businesslike workflow successful the existent satellite for younger surgeons and little learning curves with caller products for experienced surgeons.

The virtual world sessions occurred implicit 2 days. On the archetypal day, the participants gathered successful the real-world auditorium present successful New York City and logged connected with their headsets and manus controls and learned the basics of maneuvering to go comfy with the Metaverse. Two technicians and income representatives were contiguous successful the auditorium country to assistance participants. One bundle programmer was wrong the Metaverse to assistance there. He presented 2 lawsuit presentations, each with an elaborate slideshow presumption that was downloaded into the Metaverse and projected onto what would look to beryllium a 100 ft surface by real-world estimation. Pre-operative imaging was shown including xrays, CT scans, and MRI scans with scrolling capability. One lawsuit was cervical spondylotic myelopathy and 1 was lumbar deformity. The bundle constructed ample 30 ft models utilizing preoperative imaging. The imaging was besides superimposed onto the exemplary and we utilized features to select-in oregon select-out parts of the anatomy to amended presumption what was down oregon astir it, for example, removing the bony to spot the compression connected the spinal cord. These 2 cases were presented truthful that participants could execute their desired surgical program successful the real-world cadaver laboratory the pursuing morning. On the 2nd day, participants were present much comfy with the Metaverse which allowed fantabulous world treatment to instrumentality place. He hosted 2 much lawsuit presentations with slideshow presentations including intraoperative footage. The constructed pre-op exemplary displayed the tumor with large specificity and the postop exemplary displayed its resection and placement connected instrumentation for our tumor case. The revision country lawsuit demonstrated the virtual world quality to preoperatively measurement screw and rod sizes and comparison to our postoperative exemplary constructed from imaging.

The participants were successful awe. The world’s champion spine surgeons of master-class level were having the clip of their lives. The participants enjoyed the audio-visual prime with haptic feedback, the life-like spine anatomy models, the projection of imported CT and MRI scans, and the surgical simulation features. The surgeons were similar children discovering caller toys connected Christmas morning. The tract of smiles, the dependable of laughter, and the quality of curiosity filled the auditorium.

Dr. Fiani is excited astir the aboriginal of virtual world (VR) and augmented world (AR) for spine surgery. VR volition proceed to beryllium much life-like with computer-brain synchronizing and the headsets volition go lighter to the constituent wherever they go glasses and possibly adjacent interaction lens. VR manus controls volition apt go gloves for much realistic movements and power to simulate actions and surgical simulations. In regards to AR, headsets volition besides go lighter and smaller and displacement to glasses oregon interaction lens. More companies volition beryllium created and contention volition grow. When it comes to the aboriginal Dr. Fiani says “in the precise adjacent future, rather perchance successful the twelvemonth 2023, I volition beryllium hosting the archetypal yearly virtual world spine country conference. Stay tuned, readying has already begun.”

Contact
Dr. Brian Fiani
bwv9004@med.cornell.edu