UK cancer patients use Brainlab Mixed Reality Viewer to visualize, understand their treatment

For the first time, patients in the UK will have access to Brainlab Mixed Reality Viewer as part of their cancer treatment; a new way for physicians to provide visualization of treatment to their patients, actively involving them in their own cancer care.

Source: Brainlab

GenesisCare has launched the revolutionary new technology at its Oxford center for diagnostics, oncology and wellbeing, as part of a £20m investment. This comes alongside a number of state-of-the-art cancer treatments, as part of the UK’s most comprehensive private neuro-oncology pathway.

As part of the next generation of medical imaging, the viewer will allow clinicians and patients to visualize, interpret and interact with a patient’s medical data in 3D hyper-realistic visualizations – as if they were objects in the real world. This will enable patients to be more involved and better understand the impact of their treatment plan on their cancer.

Speaking about using Brainlab Mixed Reality Viewer, Mr. Puneet Plaha Consultant Neurosurgeon, Oxford said:

The Mixed Reality Viewer is a truly remarkable piece of equipment – freeing patient scans from a 2D screen and bringing them to life in a room for patients to see. 

Preparing for brain surgery has taken on an entirely new dimension with viewing in mixed reality, allowing patients to walk into a unique, fascinating virtual 3D world of the human body brain and see their critical structures and surrounding nerve connections. It provides them with an excellent understanding of their symptoms and importantly what surgery would involve and the effects it might have on their cancer.

Ultimately, this allows us to make tailored treatment decisions alongside patients, empowering them in a way which was previously not possible.”

The technology also enables groups of clinicians – either in person, or remotely - to collaborate on patient cases and treatment decisions in an e-MDT (enhanced-multi-disciplinary team), providing understanding and allowing for insights to be shared easily.

At GenesisCare, the Mixed Reality Viewer - developed by Brainlab and using the head mounted display from Magic Leap - will be used in conjunction with SRS (stereotactic radiosurgery), an advanced radiotherapy technique that precisely delivers multiple beams of radiation to a tumor in one single treatment session, reducing the number of treatments required in comparison with standard radiotherapy, and helping to preserve healthy tissue. This reduces patient side effects and improves quality of life.

This is one of a number of world class treatments being made available through GenesisCare’s end-to-end neuro-oncology pathway at Oxford, including fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance), an advanced imaging technique that shows up the areas of your brain that are responsible for vital functions such as speaking and movement, allowing clinicians to predict and limit the side effects of treatment.

GenesisCare is committed to expanding access in the UK to some of the world’s leading radiotherapy technologies, currently limited or unavailable around the country.

James McArthur, General Manager, GenesisCare UK commented on the landmark moment, saying:

At GenesisCare we provide world-class technology that can treat your cancer in days, not weeks. We are delighted to be the first to make the Brainlab Mixed Reality Viewer available to patients in the UK. Alongside the recently launched MRIdian radiotherapy technology, this is the one of a number of exciting technologies GenesisCare is making available to patients in the UK over the next 12 months.”