Digital imaging, virtual and augmented reality

The sensorial perception of what is captured is what we know as “image” and consists of a static component and a dynamic process. This continuous process of images capture is essential in surgery. The image is crucial for the surgeon, who requires it for the diagnosis, for the therapeutic process and for postoperative follow-up. In minimally invasive surgery the sequence of images is essential and promotes the appearance of digital video. Digital video is the representation of moving images in the form of encoded digital data, unlike classic analog video, with continuous analog signals.

Beyond what we can consider the “real image” (what we see as part of the existing reality) other realities appear in these decades; the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. With these realities we refer in the medical ambitus to the creation or superposition, respectively, of a three-dimensional virtual environment to support healthcare and teaching or research processes. Today, these technologies have already begun to be integrated into various surgical specialties, with predictive surgical planning and intraoperative navigation us their main applications.

When using these digital environments, it is difficult to completely separate virtual reality from augmented reality, often being Mixed Reality. The current developments offer an environment that mixes the best aspects of both, unifying the simulation and requiring a single helmet or glasses to enjoy the sensorial experience. In this fusion of realities it will be possible to simultaneously create a virtual world from scratch to which we can add virtual elements from our real environment.