Hoag uses virtual reality to take surgery into a new dimension

Story excerpt provided by The Orange County Register.

Written by Megan Nicolai.

Marcus Barnes couldn’t have envisioned what he was about to see.

One month after successful brain surgery, the Irvine resident sat in an operating room at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach and was handed a pair of virtual reality goggles.

“There’s your long-gone nemesis,” said Dr. Christopher Duma, neurosurgeon and medical director of the brain tumor program at Hoag Hospital.

“Oh my gosh. This is so cool,” Barnes, 41, said over and over. “This is truly amazing…”

…The technology, which developers say is partially based on F16 fighter jet simulation, cost Hoag about $500,000, according to Carole Metcalf, executive director of perioperative services at Hoag. Each 3D model takes five to 15 minutes to build in the program, said Jay Sanchez, Western U.S. regional director for SNAP company Surgical Theater…

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Originally published February 18, 2016.