If you can receive advanced treatment at the clinic you usually go to, it's convenient because you don't have to go to a big hospital. From July to August 2021, a demonstration experiment of remote surgery support for dental treatment using SoftBank's 5G network and VR / AR / 3D printing models was conducted between Tokyo and Osaka. What is the aim of assisting implant surgery performed remotely using the latest technology?
In the medical field, various technological innovations such as the development of medical systems using AI (artificial intelligence) have been made. I'm here. Remote surgical support has been slow to progress due to the technical disparity among doctors and the difficulty of prior verification for practical use.
This demonstration experiment is an attempt to commercialize remote surgery support by combining 5G's "high speed and large capacity" features, 3D printing technology and XR (Extended Reality) technology.
Aim of the demonstration experiment
1. Advanced skills can be acquired from anywhere with remote instruction by experienced doctors.
Currently, the diagnosis and treatment techniques of young dentists are mainly cultivated through face-to-face guidance from experienced doctors at the clinic where they work. With remote surgical support, you can expect total support from pre-operative to post-operative by experienced instructors without restrictions on location.
Among them, implant surgery is said to be highly difficult. By receiving remote guidance from doctors other than the clinic where they work, it is expected that young dentists will be able to acquire skills and reduce their dependence on face-to-face guidance at the clinic, and more advanced treatment will be provided at the clinic they usually attend. There is also an advantage for the patient to receive
Lecture before surgery by a supervising doctor (Takeshiba, Tokyo)
A young doctor looking at a 3D model on VR ("5G X LAB OSAKA" in Osaka)
It is common to use two-dimensional data acquired by CT or MRI for imaging examinations performed before implant surgery. In this demonstration experiment, by reproducing a more precise 3D model created based on patient data in the XR space, it is possible to visualize nerves and jaw bones that have been difficult to see with the naked eye. High-definition VR/AR images consist of extremely large amounts of data, but by utilizing 5G, which has the characteristics of "high speed and large capacity," it can be stably delivered to multiple devices without delay.
In addition, by using a 3D printed model of the same size as the actual patient, we have realized pre-surgery training in an environment close to the actual surgery, which was difficult to realize until now. This allows for safer and more precise surgery.
It is also useful to solve the problem that the treatment and surgery of actual patients is the main place for young dentists to acquire skills.