Improvisation in Spinal Surgery Using AR (Augmented Reality), MR (Mixed Reality), and VR (Virtual Reality)

The day-by-day advancement of extended reality and its subset technologies, along with effective hardware, is increasing their utilization in various sectors like education, training, sports, and healthcare. Healthcare is one domain of concern. Considering this, the main focus of this paper is on spine surgery. In orthopedic surgery, the main uses of virtual reality (VR) are for education, preoperative planning, and intraoperative use. Yet the training imparted still lags. Orthopedic training committees in North America and Europe have endorsed the use of virtual reality for educational purposes. Spinal surgery is one of the main focuses where virtual reality (VR) is applied. In the past, open techniques and instruments that could be seen in real time were used to perform spine surgery. Significant advancements in minimally invasive spine (MIS) surgery have been made. Virtual reality (VR) has been used in preoperative contexts for spine surgery. This paper delves into the applications of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) in spinal surgery, emphasizing their potential in education, training, and surgical settings. Specifically, we focus on procedures like pedicle screw placement, cervical spine, and deformity correction, where AR augments surgical precision and information accessibility. The primary objective is to provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating the clinical benefits of AR–VR-enabled spinal surgery technology and propose a viable business model catering to diverse stakeholders, including patients, hospitals, research centers, and technology adopters.