For years, the technology industry has talked of the day when doctors could use mixed reality to enhance procedures and improve patient outcomes. Wait no longer; surgery of the future is here.

At the end of February, surgeons in Europe successfully completed the first shoulder anthroplasty utilizing a new software tool by Stryker, Blueprint MR Guidance System, and the Microsoft HoloLensTM 2.

According to Zacks, an earlier version of Stryker’s system had been tested by 50 surgeons in the United States and Canada across 3,500 shoulder surgeries. The new Mixed Reality Guidance system is meant to be applicable beyond a few surgeons and make a larger impact to the global anthroplasty industry at large, with the Asia-Pacific region leading the way.

The Blueprint MR Guidance coupled with the HoloLensTM 2 helps surgeons navigate their instruments in real-time with a layer of 3D images and guidance widgets displayed on the patient and in the surgeon’s sight line. 

Utilizing devices, like the Microsoft HoloLensTM 2, with powerful software has brought the future of medicine into the present. Being able to “read” a patient in real-time and guide precision instruments can help doctors not only improve their abilities, but saving lives all over the world.