The UZ Brussel is the first hospital in Belgium to use a new digital surgical 'head mounted microscope' during plastic surgery operations: the Digital Head Mounted Microscope (DHM) from i-MedTech. Plastic surgeon Prof. Dr. Rutger Schols, active within Prof. Dr. Moustapha Hamdi's Department of Plastic Surgery, performed some hand surgeries using this DHM microscope. During these surgeries, it is very important to see and spare minute nerves and blood vessels. This advanced head microscope offers 3D high-resolution image quality, is equipped with a powerful LED lamp and allows, for example, CT scans to be displayed on the screen and 3D recordings of the full image seen by the surgeon through the DHM. In this way, other colleagues in the operating room can easily follow along or the operation can also be streamed elsewhere, for example as part of training.
Traditional devices used by surgeons, such as magnifying glasses, have limitations in terms of accuracy, quality, registration and ergonomics. Surgeons build a spatial image of their patient through these applications through a combination of head and eye movements. When in doubt about depth estimation, a small head movement through the eyes gives immediate results. It is difficult to perform the same movements with a fixed operating microscope because the position of such an external device is not "sensed" by the surgeon's body.
The digital surgical magnifier feutures 2 built-in 4K cameras for a highly detailed image
The 'glasses' are connected to a portable minicomputer developed in collaboration with surgeons at UMC Maastricht. On the screen in the 'glasses', the doctor gets a direct view of what he or she is doing and, at the same time, can visualize previously made scans and photos in 3D with a foot console. This is also a huge improvement ergonomically. The magnifier is designed to allow the surgeon to keep the head straight, which is much less stressful. This allows the surgeon to better prevent potential back and neck pain.
Prof. Dr. Rutger Schols, plastic surgeon at UZ Brussel and UMC Maastricht: "For a surgeon, it is important to be able to view the patient-specific anatomy in detail during surgery. This is perfectly possible with these new 'glasses'. The 'glasses' also offer the possibility for others to follow everything on a screen, both in the operating room and remotely. This also makes it much easier to consult during an operation because everyone sees the same thing. This also opens up a lot of prospects for the training of students and future surgeons."
The innovative magnifier is currently used at UZ Brussel primarily for plastic surgery of the hands or for schisis (congenital cleft of the lip, jaw and/or palate). But it can also be used in other surgical fields such as cardiology and vascular surgery, ear nose and throat surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, neurosurgery and urology. With this new magnifier, UZ Brussel aims to improve quality and safety of surgical procedures while increasing comfort and ergonomics for surgeons.
Source: Het UZ Brussel
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