Virtual reality imaging for surgical and catheter interventions in congenital heart disease

Dr John Simpson from King’s College London is working out a way to improve treatments for congenital heart disease.

Currently, surgeons use three-dimensional (3D) imaging technology to plan the surgery before it happens, and during the procedure to guide them. But these are only static models or projections on a flat screen. Dr Simpson and his team have developed a virtual reality (VR) system for 3D heart ultrasound.

Surgeons have indicated it is better than conventional imaging when used to identify abnormal heart valves before they need replacing or repairing.

In this project, Dr Simpson will expand the system so that it includes multiple imaging methods, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

He wants it to ‘immerse’ doctors into a virtual reality heart to ‘road test’ devices before surgery and allow clinical teams from several locations to plan care and make joint clinical decisions more easily. He’ll test this new system against current methods for planning catheter and surgical procedures.

This work could lead to a new technology that will help doctors better understand the complex pathology underlying congenital heart disease whilst also improving their ability to plan procedures.

Dr Simpson and his team hope that successful use of this technology could ultimately lead to reductions in surgery time, the need the further procedures, surgical complications, and overall healthcare costs.