医生使用虚拟现实技术为手术做准备

Doctors Use Virtual Reality to Prepare for Surgeries

Felicia Luna had a really bad headache. She said the painful pressure felt “like someone was squeezing my head really tight.”

The pain became so bad that the 41-year-old woman could not lie down and rest her head on a pillow.

Her main doctor and a specialist told Luna that she needed to stop worrying.

Then, she went to the Stanford Medical Center in California.

There, she was told doctors needed to operate on an aneurysm in her brain. And they needed to act quickly.

Doctor Gary Steinberg said the aneurysm was in danger of breaking. The operation he proposed would be very complex. Luna worried a lot about the treatment. She also wanted to know more about it.

So Steinberg decided¹ to use virtual reality technology to improve and explain the surgical² operation.

A three dimensional roadmap of the brain

To do this, medical experts needed to take three dimensional (3D) images of Luna’s brain. A dye, or colored fluid, was injected into her bloodstream. Doctors then used computerized tomography (CT) technology to make detailed³ pictures of her brain and blood vessels⁵.

Malie Collins is program coordinator⁶ of the Stanford Neurological Simulation and Virtual Reality Center. She creates the images Steinberg uses when preparing for surgery.

Collins once worked for an Ohio company called Surgical Theater. It makes software programs with the ability to turn medical images into 3D tools for surgeons. Doctors can see the images using headsets like Oculus Rift⁷ or similar devices.

Collins trained Stanford’s medical workers to use the equipment. Then she joined the team.

Collins and Steinberg created the neurological simulation and virtual reality center. It is said to be the first virtual reality medical center in the United States.

Part of Collin’s job is to create a “fly through” virtual reality video for patients. It lets them see inside their own bodies. This virtual reality trip lets doctors and students see what is wrong and how to treat it.

For Felicia Luna, that means she can put on a headset and travel through her own brain.

Before the operation, Luna admitted that she was “a nervous wreck⁸.” But with the video, she was able to see the path Steinberg would take to repair her blood vessel⁴.

“Now I feel like I know exactly what’s going to happen.”

A new way to plan and teach complex surgery

Steinberg teaches a class at Stanford’s medical school. Before the operation, he invited the class to a room with video monitors, reclining chairs and virtual reality headsets. The students used controls around their hands to move images of areas that the upcoming surgery would treat.

Collins put images of Luna’s brain and blood vessels into the software so Steinberg could show the students how he would operate.

By simply moving his hands in the air, Steinberg could move the images around, showing all the areas inside Luna’s head and brain.

“So we can see the back of the aneurysm, the side, we can see its relationship to the parent vessel. This is something we couldn’t ever do before.”

The same images were available during surgery to help doctors and medical assistants.

Steinberg was even able to “practice” just before the five-hour-long operation.

Collins said the virtual reality tool makes the experience better for the patient, helps the doctor and assists in education. That is what “makes it unique and powerful,” she said.

In the future, Steinberg said he may be able to perform operations at a distance from the patient with the help of robotic arms. Virtual reality software can help make that possibility more likely. But, the delay between the doctor’s commands and the robot’s movement make that difficult now.

After using the virtual roadmap, doctors successfully operated on Luna’s aneurysm.

Steinberg said he experienced something unexpected during the surgery that he had not planned on using the virtual tool. He saw that he needed to use two clips instead of one to control the aneurysm.

Luna left the hospital two days after the operation to be with her four children and her husband.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

squeeze – v. to put pressure on opposite sides of something

aneurysm – n. when the wall of a blood vessel expands, forming a balloon which can burst

virtual reality – n. technology that recreates a place or experience using images, sound and other things

three-dimensional – adj. giving the appearance of an object’s height, width and length

blood vessels – n. tissue that carry blood throughout the body

headset – n. a device that is placed on the head that show images on a screen, play sounds and provide other experiences and controls

monitor – n. screens that show images, such as a computer monitor

practice – v. to perform something repeatedly so as to become skilled

unique – adj. being unlike anything else; being the only one

clips – n. devices that press to things together

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

7 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

8 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。