This interview with Dr. Christopher Longhurst and Dr. Ryan Broderick, both of UC San Diego Health, explores their pioneering work using Apple Vision Pro for clinical trials in spatial computing within the OR. The doctors highlight the innovative efforts at UC San Diego to solve healthcare challenges through cutting-edge technologies and explain how this technology is transforming the OR by reducing clutter and providing a customizable, digital interface for surgeons. Their collaborative research aims to enhance patient care and streamline surgical workflows using augmented reality headsets, which may shape the future of surgical environments.
Watch or listen below; scroll down to read
LISTEN HERE USING THE PLAYER BELOW OR SUBSCRIBE THROUGH YOUR FAVORITE PODCASTING SERVICE.
Anthony: Welcome to healthsystemsCIO’s Interview with Dr. Christopher Longhurst, Chief Clinical & Innovation Officer & Associate Dean with UC San Diego Health and Executive Director of the Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, and Dr. Ryan Broderick, Associate Professor of Surgery for the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery at UC San Diego Health. I’m Anthony Guerra, Founder and Editor-in-Chief. Thanks for joining me, gentlemen.
Dr. Longhurst: Thank you for having us.
Dr. Broderick: Thank you.
Anthony: Great. We’re going to talk about something fun today which is the Apple Vision Pro. You guys are doing the first US clinical trials for spatial computing in the OR with it, which is probably about as cutting edge as you’re going to get. To start off, Chris, give me a little bit about the organization and your role and then we’ll go from there.
Dr. Longhurst: I serve as the Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer for the health system at UC San Diego and I’m a Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Medicine. I also have the privilege of leading our Center for Health Innovation which was funded with a generous gift from Joan and Irwin Jacobs. All three of those roles are really synergistic because our goal is to help solve challenges in healthcare delivery through innovative technologies and the like. We’re really delighted to partner with Dr. Broderick, Dr. Horgan and the Center for Future Surgery on this project.
Anthony: Excellent. Ryan, a little bit about your role.
Dr. Broderick: I’m Associate Professor of Surgery in Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery and I do my research out of the Center for the Future of Surgery which is located at the Medical School at UC San Diego. In that role, I have a background in biomedical engineering, so I like to think very innovatively, try to apply new technology to what we’re doing in the operating room, and it’s been great to have Chris as a collaborator on this project as we have been able to bring it to reality.
Anthony: Very good. Let’s get the 10,000-foot overview of what this project is all about. Again, I’m quite interested in governance and the process for something like this. Somebody had the idea, read about the technology and said “oh, let’s try this.”
This is even more cutting edge than reading about it being done somewhere else. From the idea of a clinician or a surgeon who thinks this would be interesting, to moving through the process of governance, to IT eventually getting involved, and to where we are today. Let’s start with the overview of what exactly you are doing, whoever wants to jump in there.
Dr.