Hospital Introducing HoloLens Augmented Reality into the Operating Room

Alder Hey, an important children’s hospital in Liverpool, England, is working on integrating Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality technology into its operating theaters. The HoloLens is a headset that is able to overlay digital images onto a person’s field of view, essentially mixing virtual reality with the real world. The hospital partnered with Black Marble, a Microsoft partner based in the UK, to implement the HoloLens so that it can be used by surgeons to easily access imaging and other data during surgery. HoloLens technology is being paired with Microsoft’s Surface Hub, a kind of digital whiteboard. The idea is that the surgical team can gather together around a Surface Hub to review patient information, discuss the details of a procedure, and select what information should be readily accessible during surgery.