[Extended reality technologies for support of surgical workflows]

Area of Science:

• Surgical Innovation
• Medical Technology
• Extended Reality Applications

Background:

• Extended reality (XR) technologies are rapidly advancing, nearing clinical feasibility.
• Current XR applications in surgery focus on training, preoperative planning, and intraoperative assistance.
• Existing XR products are available, with some holding clinical approval.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential of XR in optimizing surgical workflows, time efficiency, and postoperative outcomes.
• To assess the current state and future prospects of XR in surgical training, planning, and assistance.
• To identify research gaps, particularly in cost-effectiveness and high-quality clinical evaluations of XR in surgery.

Main Methods:

• Review of current developments and existing products in XR for surgical applications.
• Analysis of feasibility studies and initial assessments in teaching and preoperative planning.
• Identification of a lack of comprehensive evaluation studies for intraoperative use and cost-effectiveness.

Main Results:

• XR demonstrates practical utility in surgical teaching and offers advantages in preoperative planning, though technical limitations exist.
• Clinical evaluation studies for intraoperative XR use are largely absent, hindering meaningful assessment.
• A significant gap in cost-effectiveness assessments across all three surgical application areas was identified.

Conclusions:

• XR technologies offer proven benefits for surgical workflows, despite the current lack of extensive high-quality clinical validation.
• Further development of effective interaction concepts for XR in surgery is necessary.
• Continued research and technological advancements are anticipated to enhance XR's role in clinical practice.