Enrico Checcucci, Alessandro Veccia, Stefano Puliatti, Pieter De Backer, Pietro Piazza, Karl-Friedrich Kowalewski, Severin Rodler, Mark Taratkin, Ines Rivero Belenchon, Loic Baekelandt, Sabrina De Cillis, Alberto Piana, Ahmed Eissa, Juan Gomez Rivas, Giovanni Cacciamani, Francesco Porpiglia
{"title":"Metaverse in surgery — origins and future potential","authors":"Enrico Checcucci, Alessandro Veccia, Stefano Puliatti, Pieter De Backer, Pietro Piazza, Karl-Friedrich Kowalewski, Severin Rodler, Mark Taratkin, Ines Rivero Belenchon, Loic Baekelandt, Sabrina De Cillis, Alberto Piana, Ahmed Eissa, Juan Gomez Rivas, Giovanni Cacciamani, Francesco Porpiglia","doi":"10.1038/s41585-024-00941-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The metaverse refers to a collective virtual space that combines physical and digital realities to create immersive, interactive environments. This space is powered by technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. In healthcare, the metaverse can offer many applications. Specifically in surgery, potential uses of the metaverse include the possibility of conducting immersive surgical training in a VR or AR setting, and enhancing surgical planning through the adoption of three-dimensional virtual models and simulated procedures. At the intraoperative level, AR-guided surgery can assist the surgeon in real time to increase surgical precision in tumour identification and selective management of vessels. In post-operative care, potential uses of the metaverse include recovery monitoring and patient education. In urology, AR and VR have been widely explored in the past decade, mainly for surgical navigation in prostate and kidney cancer surgery, whereas only anecdotal metaverse experiences have been reported to date, specifically in partial nephrectomy. In the future, further integration of AI will improve the metaverse experience, potentially increasing the possibility of carrying out surgical navigation, data collection and virtual trials within the metaverse. However, challenges concerning data security and regulatory compliance must be addressed before the metaverse can be used to improve patient care.</p>","PeriodicalId":19088,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Urology","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nature Reviews Urology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-024-00941-4","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"UROLOGY & NEPHROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The metaverse refers to a collective virtual space that combines physical and digital realities to create immersive, interactive environments. This space is powered by technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. In healthcare, the metaverse can offer many applications. Specifically in surgery, potential uses of the metaverse include the possibility of conducting immersive surgical training in a VR or AR setting, and enhancing surgical planning through the adoption of three-dimensional virtual models and simulated procedures. At the intraoperative level, AR-guided surgery can assist the surgeon in real time to increase surgical precision in tumour identification and selective management of vessels. In post-operative care, potential uses of the metaverse include recovery monitoring and patient education. In urology, AR and VR have been widely explored in the past decade, mainly for surgical navigation in prostate and kidney cancer surgery, whereas only anecdotal metaverse experiences have been reported to date, specifically in partial nephrectomy. In the future, further integration of AI will improve the metaverse experience, potentially increasing the possibility of carrying out surgical navigation, data collection and virtual trials within the metaverse. However, challenges concerning data security and regulatory compliance must be addressed before the metaverse can be used to improve patient care.
期刊介绍:
Nature Reviews Urology is part of the Nature Reviews portfolio of journals.Nature Reviews' basic, translational and clinical content is written by internationally renowned basic and clinical academics and researchers. This journal targeted readers in the biological and medical sciences, from the postgraduate level upwards, aiming to be accessible to professionals in any biological or medical discipline.
The journal features authoritative In-depth Reviews providing up-to-date information on topics within a field's history and development. Perspectives, News & Views articles, and the Research Highlights section offer topical discussions and opinions, filtering primary research from various medical journals.
Covering a wide range of subjects, including andrology, urologic oncology, and imaging, Nature Reviews provides valuable insights for practitioners, researchers, and academics within urology and related fields.