I-Corps: Virtual Reality System to Plan Cardiovascular Interventions

University Of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas TX

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to optimize outcomes for patients with certain kinds of heart disease and thus reduce healthcare costs. We have developed a virtual reality surgical planning tool which allows us to better understand which patients are at high risk, and better plan surgeries for them. If this tool becomes widely used, the benefits could include improving overall outcomes for people with structural heart disease, leading to fewer reinterventions, shorter hospital stays, lower healthcare costs, and improved quality of life. In addition, these tools may also be useful to neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons. Finally, if medical education is improved through virtual reality, this would lead to better physicians with more knowledge of anatomy. Regarding commercial impact, the project has multiple potential commercialization pathways. First, end users such as pediatric cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons can use the virtual reality surgical planning tool for their own patients. Further, medical device companies that make valves could use the software to teach physicians optimal ways to use their products, and to differentiate from their competitors. Finally, imaging companies could package this as the next stage of radiology interpretation software. This I-Corps project focuses on planning structural heart disease interventions and surgeries using true 3D visualization with modern virtual reality techniques. These interventions require a detailed understanding of how different parts of the anatomy relate to each other in space. The development of true 3D visualization has enabled new ways of understanding these relationships. Already, it has been shown that the use of 3D printing in planning complex cases of congenital heart disease can improve surgical decision-making. This resulted in fewer cases where the surgeon had to change her mind about which surgery to perform after opening the chest. One would therefore expect better outcomes and greater patient satisfaction if the expected procedure is done. In addition, early reports suggest that virtual reality may be useful in improving surgical education. The virtual reality system in this project has already been used to plan innovative heart interventions that were previously not considered feasible. What is yet unknown is the extent of the effect on longer-term patient outcomes, both within congenital heart disease and in adult structural heart disease. Further development of virtual reality surgical planning tools will allow the field to advance as we investigate the contribution virtual reality can make. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.