In a world first, the Royal London Hospital is live broadcasting an operation this afternoon using pioneering virtual reality technology.
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By filming with two 360 degree cameras and multiple lenses set up in the operating theatre, viewers will feel like they are actually in the room during the operation, with the sounds recorded too to make it even feel more real. A 360-degree video of the operation will be available for web browsers.
This is going to be the first time that VR technology is going to be used in the medical space and the aim of this project is to demonstrate the vast possibilities of the technology in revolutionising surgical training and global health education.
If you want to learn what it’s like to be in an operating theatre while a procedure is taking place, a surgery is to be live streamed today. The company offers medical training products that specialize in educational of doctors using virtual reality, augmented reality, and serious games.
So, to explain the opening paragraph; in two days Medical Realities will be hosting the first stream of a live surgery in virtual reality.
Dr Ahmed said, “I am honoured that this patient has given permission for his experience to provide this unparalleled learning opportunity”.
The Miami team uploaded and viewed scans of the infant’s heart tissue in 3-D using the virtual reality headset before successfully completing the seven-hour surgery that saved her life.
The app and the event itself is the work of Medical Realities, a company that uses VR, 3D, and 360-degree videos for medical training, while the cameras are provided by Mativision, an immersive video specialist better known for capturing the stage performances of Muse and guitarist Slash. “This is a gamechanger and they can see if anything goes wrong how we react to it”. You can download both the iOS and Android apps in preparation, or for Gear VR, just search “VRinOR” in the Oculus Store.
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Medical Realities The operation was on a 70-year-old British man with cancer of the colon.
