Corewell Health is the first and only Michigan health system to use a type of technology in neurosurgery cases that lets patients “tour” their own brains.

Surgical Theater’s eXperiential Reality platform is a virtual and augmented reality technology that helps patients get a close-up of the brain and assists physicians with surgery, for the planning stage and during it.

“It is a revolutionary tool that allows us to visually show our patients and families the intricacies of what we will be doing in surgery,” said Cesar Serrano Almeida, M.D., medical director, epilepsy surgery, Corewell Health Children’s at Corewell Health East.

“This visual helps our patients gain a deeper understanding of our surgical plan, so they can make informed medical decisions and be as comfortable as possible going into their surgery,” he added.

This innovative technology combines 2D images from a patient’s MRI and CT scans to create 360-degree 3D images of a patient’s brain. During consultations, patients and families "fly" through the brain via a VR headset, viewing brain tissue and vessels.

Surgeons can also add patient-specific images into a surgical microscope to provide an augmented reality view during a procedure. This gives them a sort of X-ray vision and the ability to peer around structures they will encounter during surgery.

Before this cutting-edge technology, surgeons would reference black-and-white 2D images of the brain, their imagination and decades of surgical experience to map out a procedure in their heads, said Fernando Diaz, M.D., Ph.D., neurological surgery chair at Corewell Health East. 

“Now, we’re able to put on a headset and explore — often, changing our whole approach and where we plan to make the first incision,” he said, which allows for pinpoint accuracy and minimizes complications.

Currently the technology is used in neurosurgery for tumors and epilepsy, but there are plans to expand its use for procedures like plastic surgery, craniofacial reconstruction and spine reconstruction. 

“The possibilities with this technology are endless,” Dr. Diaz said.

The Surgical Theater’s eXperiential Reality platform is currently only available at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital.

Read More: Corewell Health Uses Virtual and Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery