The patient successfully underwent surgery on the brain, plunging into the world of VR
Welcome to our readers on the iCover Blog Pages ! Today we will talk about a unique operation performed by French neurosurgeons from the medical center in Angers. For the first time, a cancerous tumor in the patient’s brain was removed using a virtual reality headset, which became a source of useful operational information for doctors.
“When creating a completely artificial world for the patient, we could compare specific areas and connections of his brain related to functions that we still couldn’t easily check on the operating table,” explained Philippe Menei, neurosurgeon University Hospital in Angers located in the west of France. Today, more than three weeks have passed since the day of the operation carried out on January 27. The patient feels great and is recovering, he added.
It is no secret that brain surgery, when the surgeon’s scalpel does its job and the patient is conscious, is a successful practice that has been used for more than a decade. This method of surgical intervention allows the surgeon to continuously monitor the vital functions of the patient during the operation - movement, hearing and vision. At the same time, patients do not feel the sensing of brain tissue, do not experience pain, and even perform Schubert’s opera arias :
... However, the use of virtual reality glasses reveals a number of previously unattainable opportunities - continued Menei.
“By creating the desired picture and studying the auditory and visual response of the patient, we get the opportunity to analyze the state of the neural connections of interest to us with a degree of detail that was previously unattainable. In the case of our “pioneer” patient, maximum caution and a clear plan of action were required of us, since one eye was already lost due to illness. Therefore, the advantage obtained was fundamentally important. ”
During the operation, an empty virtual spatial environment was created for the patient in VR glasses, in which specialists could simulate luminous point-objects fixed by the patient’s peripheral vision during the operation. The resulting response allowed us to draw conclusions and move on much more accurately and more confidently. Three weeks after surgery, the patient's vision did not deteriorate, despite the fact that the aggressive tumor was removed in the area responsible for controlling the gaze. Currently, says Menei, the patient is preparing to undergo chemotherapy.
Virtual reality glasses “... open the way to precision precision operations, making it possible to carry out manipulations that were technically and physically impossible before this time, such as, for example, removing inaccessible brain tumors,” explained Menei, whose team plans to build on success again in the coming months. The goal at this stage is to develop a technique for removing brain tumors located in the immediate vicinity of the sites that control vision.
The VR headset can also be adapted for children. And given the sad fact that brain cancer is the second most common form of cancer in France among the younger generation, the need for such an operation may arise in the very near future.
A source
Dear readers, we are always happy to meet and wait for you on the pages of our blog. We are ready to continue to share with you the latest news, review materials and other publications, and will try to do our best to make the time spent with us useful for you. And, of course, do not forget to subscribe to our sections . Our other articles and events
“When creating a completely artificial world for the patient, we could compare specific areas and connections of his brain related to functions that we still couldn’t easily check on the operating table,” explained Philippe Menei, neurosurgeon University Hospital in Angers located in the west of France. Today, more than three weeks have passed since the day of the operation carried out on January 27. The patient feels great and is recovering, he added.
It is no secret that brain surgery, when the surgeon’s scalpel does its job and the patient is conscious, is a successful practice that has been used for more than a decade. This method of surgical intervention allows the surgeon to continuously monitor the vital functions of the patient during the operation - movement, hearing and vision. At the same time, patients do not feel the sensing of brain tissue, do not experience pain, and even perform Schubert’s opera arias :
... However, the use of virtual reality glasses reveals a number of previously unattainable opportunities - continued Menei.
“By creating the desired picture and studying the auditory and visual response of the patient, we get the opportunity to analyze the state of the neural connections of interest to us with a degree of detail that was previously unattainable. In the case of our “pioneer” patient, maximum caution and a clear plan of action were required of us, since one eye was already lost due to illness. Therefore, the advantage obtained was fundamentally important. ”
During the operation, an empty virtual spatial environment was created for the patient in VR glasses, in which specialists could simulate luminous point-objects fixed by the patient’s peripheral vision during the operation. The resulting response allowed us to draw conclusions and move on much more accurately and more confidently. Three weeks after surgery, the patient's vision did not deteriorate, despite the fact that the aggressive tumor was removed in the area responsible for controlling the gaze. Currently, says Menei, the patient is preparing to undergo chemotherapy.
Virtual reality glasses “... open the way to precision precision operations, making it possible to carry out manipulations that were technically and physically impossible before this time, such as, for example, removing inaccessible brain tumors,” explained Menei, whose team plans to build on success again in the coming months. The goal at this stage is to develop a technique for removing brain tumors located in the immediate vicinity of the sites that control vision.
The VR headset can also be adapted for children. And given the sad fact that brain cancer is the second most common form of cancer in France among the younger generation, the need for such an operation may arise in the very near future.
A source
Dear readers, we are always happy to meet and wait for you on the pages of our blog. We are ready to continue to share with you the latest news, review materials and other publications, and will try to do our best to make the time spent with us useful for you. And, of course, do not forget to subscribe to our sections . Our other articles and events