Instead of Listening to Surgery Explanations, Patients See Directly in 'Virtual Reality'

Samsung Seoul Hospital Liver Cancer Center
Creates '3D Model' of Surgical Site
Demonstrates Tumor Resection to Patients

Professor Yoo Jin-su at the Liver Cancer Center, Samsung Seoul Hospital Cancer Center, is using VR equipment to explain the surgery to a patient.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A program has been developed that allows patients to see the surgical site directly in virtual reality (VR) while receiving explanations about the surgery.

The Liver Cancer Center at Samsung Medical Center announced on the 17th that it is operating a 'VR education program' before surgery for patients undergoing hepatocellular carcinoma resection as the first case.

The VR platform was created to replicate the actual hospital education room. When doctors and patients multi-access the platform together, an educational video is played and the training begins. In the video, a '3D model' made based on the patient's actual liver MRI can be viewed.

The doctor manipulates the model as if performing the actual resection, describing how the surgery proceeds. The patient can observe the tumor being removed from their liver from multiple angles.

The educational video includes detailed information not only on the surgical method but also on the liver's functions, causes of hepatocellular carcinoma, differences between open and laparoscopic surgery, gallbladder removal during liver resection, and postoperative complications.

Professor Cho Jae-won of the Transplant Surgery Department said, “Samsung Medical Center is making various efforts to reduce patients' anxiety before surgery and provide easier and more detailed surgical guidance. The VR education program is a case of 'digital innovation' introduced in the actual medical field, and we will continue to strive to improve the quality of medical care.”

This study was published in the recent issue of the international journal Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.

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