PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — In the operating room, virtual reality is adding a new dimension for doctors performing shoulder replacement surgery.

“It’s kind of like Iron Man,” said Dr. Edward Scott Paxton, who specializes in shoulder replacements at University Orthopedics in Rhode Island.

Special head gear, he said, is bringing three-dimensional technology into focus.

“It gives you so much information at your fingertips,” said Paxton.

Using a new mixed-reality system from medical supplier STRYKER, he can literally map out and see an area that’s difficult to navigate.

You can see we have to put these implants in bone, and this is a pretty funky designed bone, it’s not a square or a circle and you can imagine if it’s inside somebody it’s deep down. If they have some wear and deformity, you want to get these components right in the right spot,” explained Paxton.

This “mapping out” is done beforehand and is used during the shoulder replacement, improving his ability to execute his plan.

“I can move it around. I could pull these pieces out and if I’m doing surgery on someone right here, I can have the way it looks – a virtual model of their shoulder – that I could take my finger through different motions, spin around, look at it and then I have their shoulder right there,” said Paxton who has been utilizing this new technology for a few months.

“And I’ve used it probably on about 20 to 30 surgeries maybe,” he continued, who calls the innovation more precise and says it leads to better outcomes.

“Things flow smoother. I have more information at my fingertips,” said Paxton.

He said this is only the beginning

“Next step will be navigating where actually this will be able to match right over the patient’s shoulder blade so then you move your head and my model’s overlying their shoulder blade,” said Paxton.

Paxton said this mixed reality technology can be used on either of the two commonly performed shoulder replacement surgeries.

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