A Surgeon Goes Hands-on With Microsoft’s Hololens
A Surgeon Goes Hands-on With Microsoft’s Hololens
Microsoft‘s Hololens has been getting a tremendous amount of attention over the past few years. Hype has been steadily accelerating about the technological, financial, and social potential for augmented reality, especially given the recent frenzy surrounding Pokemon Go. To clarify, while “mixed reality” is probably a more accurate term to describe a technology that blends simulated objects with your surroundings in an almost indistinguishable fashion, we will use the term “augmented reality” in this post as it is still more common. If you don’t have the time to read this lengthy hands-on, here is the low-down: Hololens is a very impressive technology with very compelling medical use-cases, although it currently has some limitations that seem like they will be addressed in later generations of the device. Keep in mind there are additional headsets to keep an eye on, including, but not limited to, the Daqri, Epson’s Moverio, Magic Leap, ODG’s R-7 Smartglasses, and the Meta 2. -write MedGadget.com
The health technology sector is very excited about the potential of augmented reality for a variety of applications. Health-related AR startups are already getting a lot of buzz and funding. One of the most talked about applications is the holographic anatomy educational program, which is the result of a partnership of Microsoft with Case Western Reserve University. Reading about the various applications and the technology is exciting, however it is hard to get an idea of the potential of the Hololens, and the limitations, without trying it yourself.
Thanks to Neil Gupta, organizer of the Boston Augmented/Mixed Reality Meetup, and Microsoft, I was able to get hands on (or head in?) a Hololens and try it out for myself. We tried the Hololens in a sizable enclosed space that proved to be ideal for its tracking and projectional capabilities. The headset is pretty ergonomic. After a little fiddling with the size and the angle of an unconventional oblique strap that keeps it in place, it was easy to forget it was on your head. I didn’t feel that it was incredibly secure, however, and I imagine that during a long surgery you would need someone to adjust it occasionally.
Read the rest here: http://www.medgadget.com/2016/07/hololens-hands-want.html
