A joint project between Room One, BT, King’s College London, Ericsson and OPTO has demonstrated how medical surgery can be livestreamed globally in virtual reality (VR) in order to allow students and doctors to learn from operations, no matter where they are in the world.
The demonstration showed how a surgeon could control a robot arm from a distance using a connected glove, which could control the robot arm with low-latency 5G. The video and audio were then streamed to other participants, who were also given haptic feedback pads, so the tactile sensations felt by the surgeon were also transmitted.
Melissa Doré, COO of Room One, said: “VR will have a transformative impact on all aspects of our lives, including learning and mentoring, and this is a demonstration of just that. The Room One team is now working on a CGI-powered version, providing surgery students with a fully immersive environment to practice surgery. We were delighted to work with Ericsson, BT, KCL, and OPTO intimately on this project. We have a number of additional exciting virtual reality projects in the pipeline, and hope to continue to work with technical and creative partners from a range of backgrounds to find innovative solutions to existing problems.”
Mahdi Yahya, President of Room One, said: “The connectivity revolution is bigger than the industrial revolution. We are only at the start of what is possible. Remote surgery over the Internet; the creation of fully immersive virtual worlds; homes, cars, and phones that speak to each other instantly over the network. As creatives, designers and technologists, it is our duty to realise this future.”
Peter Marshall, Head of MBB, UK and Ireland at Ericsson, added: “Over the last 18 months Ericsson has been developing a strong relationship with Room One. We both have ambitions to show the value of VR/AR in a connected society where immersive experiences become the norm. This co-creation approach and the evolving ecosystem of various partners are the key ingredients to developing 5G, and allow us to provide new services, applications and devices. Having the opportunity to work with Room One is a great addition to this.”
VRFocus will bring you further news on medical uses of VR as it becomes available.