Surgeon to perform live-streamed Virtual Reality surgery on colon cancer patient using Mativision technology

Operation to be performed on 14 April 2016 at 1pm GMT at Barts Health NHS Trust, and live-streamed through virtual reality using Mativision technology

An operation on a patient with colon cancer at The Royal London Hospital will be the first in the world to be broadcast live through pioneering virtual reality (VR) technology. Thousands of medical students watching remotely though VR headsets and using their smartphones will be able to learn about surgery at first hand from one of the country’s leading cancer surgeons, Dr Shafi Ahmed.

For this project, Barts Health is working in partnership with Medical Realities, a healthcare company set up by Dr Shafi Ahmed to change the future of medical training through VR and Augmented Reality (AR), and Mativision, experts in live streaming 360° and VR. The operation will be filmed on two 360° cameras with multiple lenses and live streamed through Mativision’s revolutionary 360° and VR player to enable viewers to move around the theatre and zoom in and out of any aspect of the operation.

A number of medical students from Barts Health have been provided with VR headsets which provide the full immersive experience, and will be participating in the operation from nearby seminar rooms in the hospital and at Queen Mary University of London. Others are expected to be logging in from medical schools around the world. Viewers without a VR headset can still watch the operation on a smartphone or computer screen.

Following this pioneering activity, the goal is to host many more VR surgeries on the Mativision app, ‘VR in OR’ and Medical Realities website. The aim for Mativision and Medical Realities is to overlay the Video On Demand content with CGI graphics and labels creating a bespoke, interactive educational experience for the global medical industry. This will give unparalleled access to new surgical learning resources and aims to have a hugely positive impact for medical personnel in the developing world, allowing them to remotely experience state-of-the-art operating theatres and train in complex surgeries.

Dr Shafi Ahmed, Cancer Surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust and Co-founder of Medical Realities:

I am honoured that this patient has given permission for his experience to provide this unparalleled learning opportunity. As a champion of new technology in medicine, I believe that virtual and augmented reality can revolutionise surgical education and training, particularly for developing countries that don’t have the resources and facilities of NHS hospitals. I am also grateful to Mativision for making this difficult process possible from a technology perspective. I am very excited about the expansion of this program to bring more medical learning to the world.

George Kapellos, Head of Marketing and Partnerships, Mativision:

This is a very important milestone for Mativision as it will be the first time that our 360 and VR proprietary technology will be used for the medical vertical. It’s a great example of how VR can become a powerful educational tool and extend its reach over and above entertainment. The world is just beginning to see the possibilities of what VR can achieve and we are proud to be at the very forefront of this.