The HoloLens is helping surgeons around the world work together

The HoloLens allows surgeons to work together in real-time and to pull up information in sterile environments.

What you need to know

• Surgeons around the world are using the HoloLens to collaborate and communicate during operations.
• An initiative to use the HoloLens in surgery spanned across 13 countries and five continents.
• The HoloLens also serves as a tool for bringing up information within a sterile environment.

Microsoft's HoloLens is being used in operating rooms to help surgeons communicate, collaborate, and pull up information during procedures. Dr. Bruno Gobbato, a self-described "tech guy" and "geek," is part of a group of surgeons using the HoloLens augmented reality headset.

In a story told by a Microsoft news post, Gobbato worked with Professor Thomas Gregory in Paris and Dr. John Erickson in New Jersey while performing surgery in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. Gobbato used a HoloLens 2, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, and Microsoft Teams to work together with the experts during the surgery.

In the operating room, the HoloLens isn't just a tool for collaboration and communication. It's a sterile option that can act as a smartphone without requiring any physical contact. Surgeons can't just type away on a keyboard and use a mouse when they're in an operating room because operating rooms need to be sterile.

"I realized that I was able to use the HoloLens as a computer or a smartphone to get any information I need when I need it, during surgery. That allows surgeons to be quicker, to be more efficient and to improve performance," said Gregory.

Gregory also performed the first surgery that utilized a HoloLens back in 2017, so he has history improving medical procedures with the device. Gregory came up with a project to use the HoloLens 2 to help doctors around the world. The initiative has involved orthopedic surgeons from 13 countries across five continents.

Another doctor involved with the project, Dr. John Sledge, said, "It's an enormously limited data set that's available to me." He continues, "With the HoloLens, I can pull up the images I want and make them bigger as needed. I've got all the images I need literally right in front of me, in whatever size and clarity that I need them to be."

Gregory sees the HoloLens as a vital tool for surgery. "With HoloLens, we've got a tool to democratize this digital revolution in all of the operating theaters around the world. The impact of this is massive. I think in the future, surgeons will not be able to perform a surgery without HoloLens."