Stanford Neurosurgery Using Surgical Theater’s Precision VR™ to Advance Patient Engagement

Stanford University’s Department of Neurosurgery is using Surgical Theater’s VR Visualization Platform to help advance patient engagement and empowerment. Precision VR™, Surgical Theater’s VR medical visualization platform, builds upon the traditional method of the neurosurgeon pointing out the tumor or vascular abnormality on a flat, black-and-white 2D image used in most medical facilities. Precision VR also bridges a critical gap in patient educatiog Surgical Theater’s Virtual Reality Visualization Platformn by allowing for increased shared decision-making opportunities, especially for those with language barriers, for children and the elderly, and for families as they are grappling with a new and bewildering diagnosis.

When wearing the VR headset, a VR-empowered patient can tour and walk into the space between vascular structures and can literally stand between arteries and the tumor. For example, when the patient will turn his head to the right, he will see the tumor; to the left, he will see the artery; looking down toward feet his feet, he will see the skull base. It lets the patient physically walk together with the surgeon down a planned surgical path or minimally invasive corridor to fully understand the safety and benefits of less invasive surgical approaches.

The conventional method used in patient consultations entails seeing the 2D, flat black-and-white images used in most medical institutions, which is a stark contrast to the Surgical Theater VR platform. And the company says studies show well-informed and educated patients are more likely to have favorable outcomes.

“We see tremendous value in utilizing virtual reality across our treatment continuum especially with regards to educating patients and families about complex treatments options,” said Gary Steinberg, M.D., Ph.D., Bernard and Ronnie Lacroute-William Randolph Hearst Professor of Neurosurgery, Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery and the Founder and Co-Director of the Stanford Stroke Center. “Equipping our neurosurgeons with virtual reality also allows us to advance our mission of recision medicine while further personalizing our approach to solve the most challenging neurological disorders for each patient.”