Azurion, the image-guided therapy platform from Philips is being utilised by several companies along with the Microsoft HoloLens 2 mixed reality-based platform to gain insight into the future of operating rooms
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a worldwide leader in the healthcare technology industry, lifted the lid off an interesting mixed reality concept the MWC event held in Barcelona. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft Corp., the concept throws some light into the operating rooms of the future. Cutting-edge technological features of the market-leading Philips Azurion image-led therapy program, combined with the holographic features of the Microsoft HoloLens 2, will be used by the companies to exhibit unconventional augmented reality (AR) applications. The applications will be useful for carrying out image-guided surgeries which require minimal invasive techniques.
Minimal invasive therapies, compared to more conventional open surgery types, require small-sized incisions. The methods followed for such procedures might involve the insertion of catheters and other instruments. Inserted objects are led towards the area to be operated. Minimally invasive procedures can be performed to operate on all the major human body organs, including the brain, heart, liver and blood vessels.
Physicians are not able to observe or touch the internal parts of patients’ bodies in case of such procedures. The solution to that issue has been the use of low-power X rays and ultrasound, along with a variety of other navigation techniques for viewing the insides of a patient. Philips caters advanced navigational technological instances along with hybrid rooms for aiding these type of procedures.
The augmented reality concept created for the HoloLens 2, created by Philips and Microsoft, facilitates the transformation of conventional 2D live imaging and other surgery-related data into a holographic 3D AR-based environment. Such imagery can be instinctively manipulated and observed by healthcare professionals. The concept is now being utilised to develop additional viewpoints and gain insight regarding how augmented reality can be commercialised in the future for image-led surgical procedures.
Atul Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Image Guided Therapy, Philips, expressed his viewpoints regarding the development. Gupta, who is also a practicing radiologist, remarked that the shift from conventional open surgery methods to image-guided procedures has positively impacted surgery outcomes and cut down costs. He expressed that the Azurion platform is being used for the integration of various data pools and making them effortlessly accessible.
The brand’s collaboration with Microsoft and the HoloLens 2 can escalate the entire surgery experience positively, by offering highly-sophisticated augmented reality environments to physicians. The projections can include three-dimensional medical imagery along with displayed live data, to enable precise therapy methods. Azurion can also be controlled with eye tracking, gestures and voice commands. – Atul Gupta
The recent launch of HoloLens 2 by Microsoft has further enhanced the capabilities of a system like Azurion. The Microsoft product can have a considerable impact on the healthcare industry, as is already evident due to its collaboration with Philips. The Azurion platform has already been used in as many as 80 countries worldwide.
