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Updated: Sep 11, 2025
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Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
43.4K
Application of Augmented Reality in Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review
Jan Orlewski1, Bettina Hochreiter1, Karl Wieser1
1Department of Orthopaedics, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Forchstrasse 340, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|August 14, 2025
Summary
Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) show promise for improving surgical training and accuracy in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA). Further research is needed to confirm their broad clinical impact and explore rehabilitation applications.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Medical Technology
- Surgical Simulation
Background:
- Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) is a common procedure for various shoulder conditions.
- Increasing demand for surgical precision drives exploration of immersive technologies (VR, AR, metaverse).
- A focused synthesis of immersive technologies in RTSA is currently lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the literature on immersive technologies for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of VR and AR in surgical training and intraoperative guidance for RTSA.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review adhering to PRISMA 2020 guidelines.
- Comprehensive database search (PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library) up to May 2025.
- Narrative synthesis of 21 eligible peer-reviewed English articles on VR/AR for RTSA skill acquisition or guidance.
Main Results:
- Five studies on VR training showed improved efficiency and non-inferiority to cadaveric training.
- Sixteen studies on AR/navigation reported enhanced glenoid baseplate positioning accuracy.
- Reduced angular and linear deviations were observed with AR guidance compared to planning.
Conclusions:
- Immersive technologies (VR/AR) demonstrate potential for enhancing RTSA training, accuracy, and consistency.
- Current clinical impact is limited by small sample sizes and methodological heterogeneity.
- Further multicenter trials and cost-effectiveness analyses are warranted; rehabilitation applications are underexplored.
