Apple Vision Pro headset becomes tool in operating room

The Apple Vision Pro made a splash this week after a surgical team put it to work in a U.K. operating room.

The augmented reality headset served as a "surgical logistics and organization tool" using eXeX software during a pair of microsurgical spine procedures performed at Cromwell Hospital, the software’s developer eXeX announced Tuesday. 

"The Vision Pro was used in conjunction with eXeX – a dedicated AI backed software that focuses on streamlining the surgical episode, inventory management, equipment organization and the actual procedure at a very granular level. It has the surgical steps and equipment built into it in detail. This information is reviewed in a mixed reality environment before and during the surgical episode allowing for the scrub team to view the process and equipment in real time during the procedure and be guided by the visual overlays," eXeX explained to FOX Business.

For the spinal procedures, the Vision Pro was used by a member of the scrub team on Cromwell Hospital’s complex spine team. One of the surgeons involved in the surgeries, Dr. Syed Aftab, said in a statement that it and the eXeX software "has improved efficiency" within the group.

The use of the Apple Vision Pro during that set of surgeries came about a month after Apple first made the augmented reality headset available in the U.S. with a $3,499.99 starting price tag.

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Jessica Melugin, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Technology and Innovation, called it a "great example of the promise" of the technology. 

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"If regulators don’t get in the way, there will be increasing medical and health benefits like this one," she told FOX Business. "This sort of technology improves health for patients and may drive down costs for providers. It’s a win-win."

Apple recently reported healthcare developers have been releasing apps focused on "clinical education, surgical planning, training, medical imaging, behavioral health, and more" as they embrace the newly-released Vision Pro. 

R Street Institute Senior Fellow Adam Thierer told FOX Business that to "unlock" the potential of mixed-reality technology for healthcare purposes in the U.S., the FDA "will need to streamline how it approves digital devices that have potential medical applications."

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"While the FDA has been taking steps in recent years to change how it treats digital health technologies, it’s still a complex and slow-moving process that often delays important inventions," he said.

Ahead of the Vision Pro’s debut in early February, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri had both expressed optimism about the augmented reality headset, particularly with regards to how companies can capitalize on it. 

"Leading organizations across many industries such as Walmart, Nike, Vanguard, Stryker, Bloomberg, and SAP have started leveraging and investing in Apple Vision Pro as their new platform to bring innovative spatial computing experiences to their customers and employees," Maestri said. "From everyday productivity to collaborative product design to immersive training, we cannot wait to see the amazing things our enterprise customers will create in the months and years to come."

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The device originally hit the market with over 600 various apps and games geared toward its "spatial" features and over 1 million other compatible iOS and iPadOS apps, according to Apple.