According to experts, having an additional pair of eyes could help with precision in knee and other joint replacement surgery.  

The term “pair of eyes” refers to an Artificial Intelligence driven headset that provides a considerably more comprehensive view of the patient’s complete leg when worn by a surgeon preparing to undergo knee replacement surgery.  

Recently, a group of physicians from the Peerless hospital held a press conference to discuss the new technology.  

Sudipta Mukherjee, a senior physician in the orthopaedics and traumatology department at Peerless Hospital and orthopaedic surgeon, outlined its benefits over the current approaches.  

“In the conventional method of knee surgery, the doctor replaces a joint with an artificial implant with surgical instruments. The entire process is manual and thus prone to human errors,” he stated.  

Computer-assisted surgery was adopted to decrease human error. The computer receives the test reports.  

“The computer calculates and comes out with a perfect alignment. The error margin is reduced but not gone because it is still the humans doing the surgery with instruments,” according to Mukherjee.  

The robotic approach was the next improvement. The computer provides the alignment. In addition, a robotic arm helps the surgeon make the incision and place the implant. “However, even in this method, the doctor controls the robotic arm, and the scope for human error remains,” he noted.  

A CT scan of a patient’s damaged joint and leg is sent into the HoloLens augmented reality system. A computer program assists in determining the patient’s proper alignment. Throughout the procedure, the surgeon wears HoloLens. Without using the robotic arm, the surgeon can confirm the incisions and attain the appropriate alignment.  

“The surgeon wears the HoloLens. It enables the surgeon to see the entire limb. Earlier, during a knee replacement, we could only see the front portion of the knee. There was no vision of the hip, ankle or leg. The new system provides a holographic image generated by AI that gives the surgeon a much better and holistic view of the entire limb,” stated Mukherjee.   

Another benefit of the new technology was elucidated by Somnath De, the hospital’s clinical director and senior orthopaedic surgeon.  

“This technology helps achieve personalised alignment with the freedom to use the implant best suited for that patient. Robotic surgery, however, allows only specific implants that match that particular robotic make,” he stated.  

The new method is less expensive than robotic surgery, according to a hospital official.  

“A robotic arm costs around Rs 6 crore, and a HoloLens costs Rs 20 lakh,” he stated. 

Source: The Telegraph

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