A new immersive technology could shorten operating times and reduce the need for multiple surgeries.

Researchers from the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences at King's College London (London, UK) have developed new Virtual Reality (VR) technology that could improve outcomes for the thousands of patients who undergo a surgical or keyhole procedure for congenital heart disease surgery every year. The technology brings together scans that are routinely used to plan congenital heart disease surgery to create a three-dimensional, beating digital double of the heart. The researchers hope that using VR to plan and practice procedures will shorten operating times and reduce the need for multiple surgeries, leading to better outcomes and experiences for patients and their families. They hope that it could be in regular use within the next two years. According to the researchers, in a lot of way the validation process is lengthier because there is not much data about the clinical reliability of this kind of technology. Since the system us novel, proof that it works is needed and that will be safe to use to plan congenital heart procedures.

Trials of an early version of the technology, which used only echocardiograms (ultrasound scans of the heart) to create the VR heart, found that surgeons preferred it for understanding the anatomy of their patient’s hearts. They also reported that it increased their confidence and improved their decision making. With funding, the researchers have been able to add two more types of scans into the system - computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While these types of scans are regularly used to help plan surgeries, they are usually only viewed on a flat screen. Surgeons using the technology are immersed into the heart. It allows them to interact with and manipulate the images however they like. They can also test options for the procedure in VR before they get to the operating table. Every patient with congenital heart disease has their own set of unique changes to their heart. By giving surgeons a better understanding of this and offering them an opportunity to practice and perfect operations, the researchers hope this technology will also help to improve the experiences of thousands of patients and their families each year.

“Procedures to repair the heart’s anatomy can be complex, and surgeons don’t like surprises. Our technology will allow surgeons to plan and practice these procedures, and we’re currently applying for approval for it to be used in this way,” said lead researcher Professor John Simpson, Professor of Pediatric and Fetal Cardiology at Evelina London and King’s College London. “We think that this technology could also be used outside of congenital heart disease surgeries, to plan any procedure which aims to correct a structural problem within the heart, such as valve surgery in an adult patient.” 

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