Augmented Reality Elevates Precision for Chief of Surgery at Trinity Health Oakland

From the invention of the cell phone to the internet and everything in between, technology has made everyday life much easier over the years. The impact of technology is no different when it comes to health care. In fact, Trinity Health Michigan is at the forefront in offering an innovative new technology that improves precision and reduces recovery times for orthopedic patients following total knee replacement surgery.

Thanks to a pair of glasses that utilize augmented reality (AR) technology, Safa Kassab, MD, the chief of surgery at Trinity Health Oakland, can perform a total knee replacement unlike it’s ever been performed before.

The technology, which is manufactured by a company called Vuzix and is called “Smart Glasses,” is pretty easy to use. When Dr. Kassab puts the glasses on inside the operating room, he sees an image that provides him with optimal angles and measurements needed for knee replacement procedures.

Dr. Kassab says the glasses have been used on more than 100 patients already and provide him with valuable information and measurements that he can use to perform more accurate and less invasive procedures.

“Not only are our patient’s recovering much faster, but they are also at less risk of complications and their artificially replaced knee is expected to last much, much longer as a result,” said Dr. Kassab. “This technology is a total game changer.”

“I am performing nearly a dozen knee replacements every week using these augmented reality glasses,” he said. “Based on how successful this has been for my patients, I think it’s really a matter of when, not if, this technology is going to be the norm for other forms of surgery as well.”

Trinity Health Oakland, which recently purchased four pairs of the AR glasses, is currently the only hospital in the state of Michigan to offer this technology to patients. Dr. Kassab believes this is the future of how knee surgeries will be performed.

“This is absolutely the future of surgery, without a doubt,” Dr. Kassab said. “It’s already being used for spinal surgeries, as well as trauma surgeries. Plus, it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so it’s only a matter of time before it is more widely adopted and transitions to other types of surgeries, too.”

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