Translational research is aimed at turning discoveries from basic science into results that advance patient treatment. The translation of technical solutions into clinical use is a complex, iterative process that involves different stages of design, development, and validation, such as the identification of unmet clinical needs, technical conception, development, verification and validation, regulatory matters, and ethics. For this reason, many promising technical developments at the interface of technology, informatics, and medicine remain research prototypes without finding their way into clinical practice. Augmented reality is a technology that is now making its breakthrough into patient care, even though it has been available for decades. In our recent work, we explain the translational process for Medical AR devices and present associated challenges and opportunities with the example of the HoloNavigation project, a research project conducted at Balgrist University Hospital which led to the world's first AR-navigated spine surgery.
Matthias Seibold received his master's degree from the Technical University of Munich in 2018 in the field of Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Mechatronics and Medical Technology. He joined the ROCS team as a scientist in December 2018 and conducted his doctoral thesis under the supervision of Prof. Nassir Navab (TU Munich). Since its completion in November 2022 Matthias works as a postdoctoral researcher in the PROFICIENCY project. His research interests include Medical Deep Learning, Acoustic Sensing, Computer Vision, Medical Augmented Reality and Surgical Sonification.
