A new, high-tech augmented reality surgery system has made its North American debut at the MUHC superhospital.
Since March, the MUHC director of rhinology Marc Tewfik has been using a targeted guided surgery technique for sinus operations. While sinus surgeries are already safe, the German-made SCOPIS system reduces risks to the optic nerve and internal carotid artery.
“If an old navigation system is like a GPS like you would have on your phone, the new system’s a bit like a heads-up display on the windshield of a car,” said Tewfik.
The system guides surgeons along a virtual corridor, helping them avoid sensitive areas. It gives feedback when the operator is too close the nerve and artery.
“This will give us a little bit more confidence in doing those surgeries and doing them a little bit quicker,” said Tewfik.
The MUHC was selected to become the first North American home of SCOPIS due to the expertise of its surgeons and status as a teaching hospital.
The system has attracted doctors from around the world looking to train, such as Singapore’s Joe Tze Choong Carn, who is in Montreal as part of a year-long program.
“It’s actually very user friendly, intuitive and it makes it so easy to adopt it,” he said.
As for the patients, the new equipment gives them one less thing to worry about. Chantay Rose was injured a year-and-a-half ago while skiing and has already undergone one operation to fix the damage to her nose and fractured facial bones.
Now, she needs one more to repair a torn tear duct.
“It’s going to give them direction, where not to go, where to go and the perfect path to get through my nose and to the tear duct,” she said.
