Published on: 2 September 2024
George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust is trailing the implementation of AR, through an Apple Vision Pro headset, in delivering ultrasound guided injections. This has been hugely well received by patients as it helps improve accuracy, efficiency and overall outcome for patients this essential treatment.
Dr Arul James, Clinical Lead Chronic Pain Medicine at George Eliot Hospital, who has led this pioneering work, said: “We are proud to be leading on this revolutionary new use of AR in helping patients with their chronic pain treatment during ultrasound guided injections.
“Millions of people worldwide suffer from chronic pain. It affects quality of life and often eludes complete relief through conventional methods.
“Targeted treatments, such as injections and nerve blocks, are critical for many patients. Historically, these procedures required clinicians to shift their focus between the patient and the ultrasound device, affecting both accuracy and comfort, but using AR means there is no break in focus and better accuracy when delivering the treatment.”
The treatment see’s potential application for a select group of patients going forward.
Christina Redfern, one of the first patients to benefit from the approach, said: “My experience was exceptional. I felt safe in the knowledge that technology was enabling better care. I had been shown the goggles before and Dr James gave me a detailed explanation of how they work, what the benefits were and what to expect.
“As a lover of all things technology, it was exciting and piqued my curiosity in how AR could be used to benefit myself as a patient, as well as patients who I care for in my job as a senior member of the nursing team at George Eliot Hospital.
“During the whole procedure, l felt connected to Dr James as the support team were amazing. They ensured I was comfortable at all times and Dr James told me everything that was going on to help keep me informed.”
We are in the early stages of this pioneering work at the Trust, with Dr James aiming to demonstrate how the use of AR can benefit other areas of medicine and teaching.
“The use of AR technology in this way marks a forward leap in medical procedures and patient care, offering a blend of efficiency and accuracy with the potential to improve patient experience across many other areas in the future.
“We look forward to help driving this innovation which we can use to improve treatments for the benefit of patients and the wider NHS.”