Dundee students mix reality with Microsoft HoloLens surgical training apps

A group of Scottish university students will join a world-renowned medical technology company after developing new learning tools in augmented reality.

The seven students from University of Dundee have been offered internships with Medtronic following a three-month project which saw them develop apps to train on surgical anatomy and related procedural approaches relevant to ENT  (ear, nose, throat) conditions – through Microsoft HoloLens.

The HoloLens is the first self-contained, holographic computer, which allows users to interact with holograms in mixed reality.

Professor Tracey Wilkinson, joint programme lead with Nicolas Denervaud from Medtronic, said the aim of the project was to design and create innovative augmented reality apps for medical education and training, using the HoloLens device as a training tool.

She said its benefit is to help healthcare professionals train in an efficient way to improve their practice and ultimately reach better patient outcomes.

“We have a large number of active, fertile, creative minds in our university who are very comfortable with modern technology”, Wilkinson said. “Allowing our students to develop their ideas with support from Medtronic has led to immersive and fascinating learning.”

Denervaud said that the Medtronic team were really impressed with what the students had achieved in such a short time.

“The company are now sponsoring seven summer internships, giving several of the students an opportunity to develop their ideas further”, Denervaud said. “This is an important project for us, in our effort to develop new teaching modalities, with the aim to help Health professionals deliver improved patient outcomes.”

“Our interns will be tasked with bringing an educational app in anatomy and ENT surgery to completion, so that it is ready for use by trainee health professionals.”

One of the prototypes focused on Temporal Bone surgery will be demonstrated at the European ENT congress in October.

Medtronic has also agreed to run the project again next year, this time over six months to allow more time for development.

Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is among the world’s largest medical technology, services and solutions companies.