Orthopedic Doctor Uses Apple Vision Pro For Game-Changing Surgery Assist

There are plenty of instances of folks using Apple’s Vision Pro augmented reality headset irresponsibly, while doing things like driving Telsa Cybertrucks, skydiving, or even getting married. Despite all that nonsense, the Vision Pro has some potentially game-changing applications, especially within the medical field. While the use of Vision Pro in medicine might seem strange at first, the ability to see critical details more easily or have surgery-aiding software at hand could improve medical outcomes. This is what one Brazilian doctor has shown with a recent surgery on a patient’s rotator cuff.

Using an HMD is not a new concept in medicine, nor is using augmented reality in general. Earlier in March of this year, we saw Cromwell Hospital using a Vision Pro in the operating room to aid in spinal surgery, minimizing potential human error and “guesswork,” which, while frightening, is quite common. Going even further back, Microsoft’s HoloLens made its way into some hospitals as well, which is what Doctor Bruno Gobbato was familiar with before getting his hands on an Apple Vision Pro for surgery.


Out of Jaraguá Hospital in Brazil, Mac Magazine reports that orthopedist Bruno Gobbato and team were performing a rotator cuff repair surgery using the Apple Vision Pro. While 3D models and the Notes app were used for varying purposes, the most interesting detail is that the headset was also used to mirror a camera to a screen. The article explains that the surgery “uses a camera inside the joint” and using the Vision Pro, “it was possible to place the [camera] screen in cinema size with high resolution, in addition to being able to count on the patient's exams and 3D models in real time.”

This is a cool application of augmented reality that could help doctors perform better surgeries, thereby leading to better outcomes.