Virtual Reality in Preoperative Planning of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery Using Google Cardboard

OBJECTIVE: Preoperative planning in spine surgery is a fundamental step of the surgical workup and is often assisted by direct visualization of anatomical 2-dimensional images. This process is time-consuming and may excessively approximate the 3-dimensional (3D) nature of spinal anatomy. Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology capable of reconstructing an interactive 3D anatomical model that can be freely explored and manipulated. METHODS: Sixty patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis underwent correction of the scoliotic curve by posterior arthrodesis after preoperative planning using traditional on-screen visualization of computed tomography scans (control group, n = 30) or exploration of a 3D anatomical model in VR using Google Cardboard (Google Inc.) (VR group, n = 30). Mean operative time, blood loss, length of hospital stay, and surgeon’s satisfaction were assessed after surgery. RESULTS: The use of VR led to a significant decrease in operative time and bleeding while increasing the surgeon’s satisfaction compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Preoperative planning with VR turned out to be effective in terms of operative time and blood loss reduction. Moreover, such technology proved to be reproducible, cost-effective, and more satisfactory compared to conventional planning.