Future Workplace Fun got serious Neurosurgeons operate more precisely, pilots land more safely and employees around the globe collaborate more easily – from avatar to avatar.

Neurosurgeons at the University of California in Los Angeles are using virtual reality glasses like those also used by gamers for their video games. The surgeons virtually fly through the heads of their patients and for this to be possible, they create 3D models of the brain using a combination of computer tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance tomography (MRT). The 360-degree shots not only show where blood vessels and nerve paths run in the skull, but also the location of any tumors or aneurysms. By walking through the simulated brains of the patients, the surgeons can prepare better for surgery before finally operating with greater precision – thanks to virtual reality (VR) technology.

It is not only when preparing for operations that neurosurgery has recognized the benefits of technology, but also during the actual performance of operations. Neurosurgeons at Duke University are testing augmented reality glasses to allow drainage tubes to be placed more precisely in the skull. The glasses are not only capable of incorporating CT scans holographically into the operator’s field of view, thus overlaying the patient’s head at a ratio of 1:1. They can also virtually indicate the path of the catheter into the brain. Whereas surgeons would otherwise have to measure and mark the skull in order to insert holes and drainage tubes, augmented reality (AR) technology should soon reliably guide them to their destination.

“Augmented and virtual reality have found their way into the working world,” says Dr. Michael Burmester from the Stuttgart Media University in an interview you can read in full in the next article of the “Future Workplace” Perspective. “The usage context is always critical for the application of technologies. How can augmented and virtual reality support people in their work?”