Brazilian doctor performs shoulder surgery using Apple Vision Pro on YouTube

A Brazilian orthopedic traumatologist shares a video on YouTube showing how to repair a damaged tendon in a patient’s shoulder using Apple Vision Pro. The stethoscope from the American technology company supported the doctor in this.

What is Apple Vision Pro?

Apple Vision Pro is a so-called “mixed reality” headset. Mixed reality combines elements of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Where virtual reality places the user in a completely virtual world, augmented reality places a virtual layer on top of the real world.

Apple Vision Pro was launched in February 2024. It runs on VisionOS, an operating system developed by Apple specifically for headphones. The Apple Vision Pro is a completely standalone device. This is in contrast to the Apple Watch, for example, which users connect to their iPhone.

Five sensors and twelve cameras

The headphone has an aluminum body with a glass front. Users wear Apple Vision Pro on their head, with a headband that ensures the headset stays in place. The device is equipped with two 4K displays, and each eye has its own screen at its disposal. There are a total of five sensors and twelve cameras to enable virtual experience for users.

The Apple Vision Pro can operate for about two hours on a battery charge. The battery is connected externally to the headset via a cable. Users who wear glasses can use optical accessories with Zeiss lenses, which they can magnetically attach to the headphones.

Watch via YouTube

The headset was used by a Brazilian doctor to perform shoulder surgery. The entire process is recorded by the doctor from his point of view. He explains how such a process works, and how a headset like the Vision Pro supports it.

Using the headset, the doctor can, among other things, view the shoulder in 3D during the operation and use this 3D view to mark the incision on the shoulder. The video also shows the doctor virtually browsing through his patient notes, which include various medical images.

The video cannot be embedded due to the nature of the content for which YouTube has age restrictions. You can find the video here.

Previous surgery

This is not the first time Apple Vision Pro has been used during an operation. Surgeons at Britain’s Cromwell Hospital performed surgery with Apple Vision Pro for the first time in both the UK and Europe in March. This included two operations on the spine using microsurgery.

The headset was then integrated with ExEx’s artificial intelligence software. Cromwell Hospital is using the company’s AI technology to improve surgical procedures. This combination has given surgeons access to 3D images during the operation, among other things. They can also refer to the instructions without touching them. Cromwell Hospital reports that this, among other things, significantly increases the efficiency of the process and helps improve patient outcomes.

Author: Wouter Hufnagel
Image: Apple