[Mixed Reality in Vascular Surgery - a Scoping Review]

Area of Science:

• Medical Technology
• Surgical Innovation
• Vascular Interventions

Background:

• Mixed reality (MR) technology projects virtual objects into a user's field of view via head-mounted displays (HMDs).
• MR applications hold potential future benefits for the interventional and surgical treatment of vascular diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current mixed reality applications in vascular surgery.
• To identify future research objectives for MR in this field.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search conducted in PubMed (MEDLINE).
• Search terms included vascular surgery and intervention-related keywords combined with "mixed reality" or "augmented reality".
• Study followed PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews.

Main Results:

• Eight relevant studies were identified from 547 references.
• Applications were categorized into information management/ergonomics (3 studies) and intraoperative navigation (5 studies).
• Technical success in registration and tracking was demonstrated in phantom/animal models, but high costs and limitations exist.

Conclusions:

• Mixed reality presents a promising avenue for vascular surgery.
• Future research should prioritize pragmatic, cost-effective registration methods with error quantification.
• Software and hardware solutions need adaptation to vascular surgery requirements, potentially incorporating electromagnetic instrument tracking.