3 Types of Smart Glasses used in Surgery

The 3 types of smart headsets or glasses used in surgery are:

1. Virtual reality (VR) headsets

2. Augmented Reality (AR) Headsets

3. Mixed Reality (MR) headsets

These three technologies are often combined, although there are significant differences.

While augmented reality allows users to see the real world and project digital information into the real environment, virtual reality stops everything else and provides a complete simulation.

Mixed reality is closer to augmented reality in that it also projects digital content in the real environment.

However, unlike augmented reality, mixed reality allows its users to interact with this reality.

1. Virtual Reality Glasses

source : Osso VR

Virtual reality simulates a user’s physical presence in an artificially created 3D environment.

VR goggles completely isolate the user from the outside world to “transport” him in a new digital environment.

Virtual reality glasses are, for the most part, accompanied by other accessories such as tactile gloves, which can complement immersion by creating a sensitive interaction with virtual objects that can be fully manipulated.

There are 3 types of virtual reality :

1. Immersive Virtual Reality

2. Semi-immersive virtual reality

3. Fully immersive virtual reality

For virtual reality glasses in surgery, we find:

• Oculus

• HTC

2. Augmented Reality Glasses

source : Sentiar

Augmented reality headsets fuse digital with the real world, but without being able to interact with virtual, unlike mixed reality goggles that offer this possibility.

Augmented reality surgical glasses project a digital overlay directly into someone’s field of vision without them having to do anything.

Augmented reality headsets are worn on the eyes like normal glasses, but unlike normal glasses, they work by generating and/or superimposing graphics, images, videos, three-dimensional animations, and holograms on the real.

Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality smart glasses do not replace user environments or scenes with fully virtual environments.

AR glasses add 3D images to real environments to improve and “increase” the user’s view.

For augmented reality surgical glasses, for example:

• Magic Leap 2

• Proximie PxLens

• Augmedics Xvision spine system

For augmented reality, 3D imaging systems are more convenient for surgeons who already wear corrective eyewear (pending integration of this feature or even smart lenses).

3. Mixed Reality Glasses

Source: Microsoft

Mixed reality goggles allow the user to interact with digital content.

The glasses are partially transparent, allowing the user to see the real environment.

For MR surgical smart glasses or smart headsets, we find:

• Hololens 2

4. Comparison between VR, AR, and MR glasses

We distinguish the 3 types of helmets of extended reality in surgery as follows:

• Virtual reality headsets: the user is immersed in a virtual world.

• Augmented reality headsets: the user has an augmented view of objects in 3D, without being able to interact with them, while remaining in contact with the real world.

• Mixed reality headsets: the user has a holographic 3D view and can interact with these holographs.

The existence of smart helmets or smart glasses, augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality glasses complicates the distinction between them, especially when combined.