A team from Washington University in St. Louis tested a holographic display device that they say helped improve the accuracy of physicians performing cardiac ablation procedures to treat abnormal heart rhythm.
The team of physicians and engineers tested a Microsoft HoloLens headset with custom software during cardiac ablation procedures at St. Louis Children's Hospital. The team developed the custom software used with the headset during the procedures.
The software converts data received from the catheters linked to the patient's heart into a geometrical holographic image that hovers over the patient. Using the headset, the physician is able to use their gaze to guide the controls, as opposed to existing technology, where a technician controls the catheters while the physician views the images on monitors.
The Washington University team tested the device and custom software by training two St. Louis Children's Hospital, who then used the new technology on 16 pediatric patients. After the procedure, the physicians where given 60 seconds to navigate to each of five target markers within the geometry of the heart using the new technology and the old technology.
The physicians were significantly more accurate with the headset and custom software, the researchers said.
The researchers published the results of their trial in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology and IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, and as a paper at the International Conference on Human Computer Interaction July 10.