MedithinQ – a headset for better robotic surgery

The London Clinic was the first private hospital in the UK to introduce robotic surgery with
the da Vinci robot in 2005. Since then, we have used every single version of the system to
perform keyhole surgery including the latest da Vinci Xi robot. This kind of surgery is not a
one man show. Rather it involves a team of surgeons, anaesthetists, surgical care
practitioners and scrub nurses. Our surgical care practitioners are expert assistants at the
operating table who expertly help the surgeon seated at a distance from the patient, while
operating the robotic arms and 3D camera from a highly specialised computer console.

This simply means that the outcomes of robotic surgery do not just depend on the skills of
the surgeon but also those of the surgical care practitioner assisting them.

You are as good as your assistant!

It has been obvious to me that while as the surgeon, I am seated comfortably at a robotic
console performing an operation, my assistant has to look at a large TV monitor placed at an
angle to watch what I am doing and helping me with changes of instruments and cameras.
This often causes considerable strain to their neck and shoulders and affects their
performance. A few years ago, I had a surgical trainee complain that severe neck pain
prevented them for carrying on with assisting in robotic surgery.

We have previously shown that headsets such as Google glass and Hololens could be the
solution to the problem and improve surgical performance while reducing neck strain and
fatigue. This is achieved by having all the images of the operation directly in front of the
eyes, just like looking through high quality sunglasses.

We have now started using a new 3D wifi headset called MedithinQ supplied by Lawmed
and worn by my assistant and scrub nurse to improve their performance and ultimately
patient outcomes. Rather than having to turn their necks towards a monitor they lookstraight ahead and assist with the operation in real time 3D rather than on a 2D TV screen.
We are proud to continue our robotic journey of innovation and improvement…