Use of a headmounted display in skull base surgery

Michael Schulder, Abe Hming, Peter W. Carmel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Introduction: A stereoscopic headmounted display headmounted display (HMD) was evaluated as an adjunct in skull base surgery. Technique: The StereoSite HMD consists of a helmet with liquidcrystal display (LCD) panels. The HMD is connected to digital decoders that can process any 2 inputs at once. The same image can be seen on multiple helmets or on a monitor. Out of 13 patients in whom the Stereosite was used, 9 had lesions of the skull base. A surgical navigation input and a surgical microscope were used in all cases; an endoscope in 5/9 and all 3 inputs in 4 cases. Results: The HMD was used by the primary surgeon an average of 22 minutes per procedure (range 5 min. to 60 min.), or 22% of the time the microscope was in use. The assistant wore the HMD an average of 26 min (range 0 to 100 min), including an average 19 min. for resident supervision. Visual quality of the display was rated on a 1 to 4 scale, with 4 being equal to direct viewing through the microscope. This ranged from 2 to 4, average 3.1. No pain was reported by wearers and no significant disequilibrium. The HMD was most useful in transsphenoidal surgery, where microscopic and endoscopie coordination was greatly facilitated. There were no complications related to the HMD. Conclusions. The HMD is a valuable addition to transsphenoidal surgery and is otherwise useful for resident teaching and supervision. Expected improvements in LCD technology may allow the HMD to be the primary viewing tool in skull base surgery.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)27-28
Number of pages2
JournalSkull Base Surgery
Volume9
Issue numberSUPPL. 1
StatePublished - 1999

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology

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