Creating super doctors, championing smart healthcare

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A holographic revolution to redefine smart healthcare

Committed to overcome deficiencies in conventional medical practice, elite doctors and computer scientists at Visual3D aim to create an integrated and intelligent digital healthcare platform with cutting edge technology. Visual3D’s growing portfolio of products and services includes medical mixed-reality (MR) applications, holographic surgical navigation, medical 3D reconstruction, cooperative telemedicine, medical cloud computing, medical artificial intelligence (AI), and big data processing. Those technical advancements are making a sea change in holographic medical image review, preoperative planning, doctor-patient communication, 3D intraoperative assistance, and real-time distance collaboration, as well as medical research and education.

Poor experience with 2D medical imaging

Film, CTs, and MRIs contain a wealth of spatial information of the patient. However, when doctors look at those 2D images on film or computer screen, they can only abstract about 20 percent of the total data. Trying to get an accurate 3D mental picture requires a great deal of experience and imagination. In a typical operation, computers can only track the position of 2D or mock 3D images of instruments on the screen, not nearly precisely and intuitively enough in a profession where slightly off could be the difference between life and death.

Unmet demand for smart imaging analysis to ensure precise operation

Manual image data analysis is difficult, time-consuming and heavily depends on a doctor’s experience. Too many inefficient and low-precision manual operations are being performed in today’s hospitals, where there is little coordinated, intelligent and bidirectional exchange between doctors, medical data, and devices. Remote collaboration and processing of complex information have been limited to audio and video for years, which no longer meet the needs of physicians.

StarAtlas and StarLink disrupt medical imaging

StarAtlas consists of a 3D reconstruction workstation, a cloud server, and an MR space station. The 3D reconstruction workstation converts CT and MRI data. The MR space station and the supporting cloud server make holographic images available for display. StarLink adds visual cues and gestures to verbal communication, making idea sharing and remote assistance instantaneous and precise.

Case study highlights

• The first MR surgery in China: the Urology Department of China PLA General Hospital completed a laparoscopic nephrectomy using Visual3D StarAtlas in January 2017. The phenomenal success of that operation resulted in a media frenzy, celebrating the arrival of medical MR in the nation.
• A breakthrough in telemedicine: Shenyang Military Hospital performed a case of nephrectomy with Visual3D StarLink in May 2017, the first real-time MR remote collaborative operation in China. That development has broad application to reduce medical inequity in a vast country. It also propelled China to the position of global leader in MR telemedicine.
• Medical digital transformation: Wuhan United Hospital has completed a number of orthopedic MR operations. As an early adapter and strong advocator, they have started a digital transformation by widely applying MR in surgical planning, doctor-patient communication, intraoperative assistance, medical research, and education.

Results

• The Microsoft technology stack greatly simplified the design and implementation cycles, taking only two months from envision to proof of concept.
• Compared with VR, a HoloLens-based MR solution has a shorter development cycle and better user experience.
• Being one of the first partners in the healthcare industry, Visual3D benefited greatly from Microsoft Mixed Reality Partner Program (MRPP) technical and marketing support and quickly generated market awareness and momentum in merely three months.

Microsoft partnership accelerates innovation

• HoloLens seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Azure and other Microsoft products, linking data collection and analysis to create a variety of revenue streams.
• Technical support from Microsoft helped Visual3D quickly overcome a number of technical hurdles.
• The MRPP provided a wealth of resources with product and market readiness, industry showcase, and go-to-market support.