What’s the Return on Investment for AR in Surgery?

While augmented reality (AR) systems are cheaper than a robot/navigation system, they still require solid, defensible, and practical returns on investment for BOTH the practice of spine or orthopedic medicine AND the hospital/clinic’s bottom line.

What ROIs are current hospital augmented reality users achieving?

I had the opportunity to drill down on this question as part of a recent Master Class titled: “Building an Augmented Reality Navigation Program at UConn Health“ at the University of Connecticut.

There I interviewed both Isaac L. Moss, M.D., C.M., M.A.Sc., FRCSC, Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Chris Hyers, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for UConn Health.

From their individual perspectives, both leaders explained their bottom-line goals when making the AR purchase decision.

For Dr. Moss, who was the first to incorporate Medtronic’s Mazor robotic assist system in New England, and now, an augmented reality navigation system, the Augmedics Inc. purchase fed into three key strategic goals:

1. Expand the range of spinal procedures that UConn Health can offer—to, literally, every spine surgery indication.
2. Build UConn’s clinical research reputation.
3. And make UConn New England’s advanced technology leader in spine surgery.

For Chris Hyers, who is responsible for making sure UConn Health’s strategic investments deliver on their promised Return on Investment (ROI), the investments in robotics and, now, augmented reality delivered significant returns on investment in these specific, practical ways:

1. Generate significant earned media coverage around the themes of spine surgery technology, research, and quality leader (patient volume).
2. Expand UConn’s reputation for research and technological advancement.
3. Create community awareness as the technology leader in surgery.
4. Build on those perceptions to establish UConn as the quality leader in spine surgery.

UConn Health Operates in a Very Competitive Medical Market

Just north of the UConn Health are the Boston powerhouse hospitals—Brigham and Women’s, Mass General, Harvard, Dana Farber, Dartmouth. Just south of UConn health are the New York and Philadelphia giants—Hospital for Special Surgery and the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute. Finally, as if that wasn’t enough, in their own backyard is the fastest growing consolidator of orthopedic and spine clinics in the United States, HOPCo, which just rolled up OrthoConnecticut.

And yet, the University of Connecticut’s orthopedic and spine practice has become one of the fastest growing in the Unites States—and advanced digital systems like augmented reality and robotics is a big part of that.

As you’ll hear in the December 6, 2023 Master Class being early with, first the Mazor robotic system and now with Augmedics augmented reality system has been a major reason behind that growth in patients and regional reputation.

Return on Investment in the Operating Room

While UConn’s OR return on investment from the Mazor robotics system, according to Dr. Moss, was greater surgical precision, notably pedicle screw placement, the augmented reality system delivered both precision and an increased ability to do more procedures.

Augmented reality (AR) overlays visual, auditory, or other sensory information onto the patient during surgery. It’s an enhanced version of the visual, auditory and other sensory stimuli of the real physical world.

One surgeon who uses AR for total knee arthroplasty likened the experience to flying an advanced fighter jet using a heads-up display. He loves it and it has transformed his practice—not only in terms of precision, but reduced worry over complications.

When using an AR system, surgeons see their patient’s underlying anatomy combined with tool trajectories and other surgical information on a heads up display.

As Dr. Moss explained (and you too can see this yourself in our December 6, 2023 Master Class—it became more than a tool for pedicle screw placement, it became a catalyst to expanding the range of spine procedures he can offer patients.

For Dr. Moss expanding his practice in this way was significant. Since buying the Augmedics AR system, he and his colleagues have used it on more than 400 cases and plan to add another system soon.

Also, as a research institution, the AR system contributes to data collection, analysis and, therefore, the raw material for clinical research projects.