World's first surgery broadcast via virtual reality

We might just be lucky to witness the world's first surgery be broadcasted live via virtual reality on 14 April at 1 pm BST (5:30 pm IST), as the Royal London hospital will operate on a patient with colon cancer.

The surgery will be performed at Barts Health NHS Trust by a leading cancer surgeon Dr Shafi Ahmed and watched by thousands of medical students remotely through VR headsets and smartphones, says a report.

Barts Health will be offering medical training to students through VR and augmented reality, in association with Medical Realities and VR specialists Mativision.

The operation will be captured and live-streamed in 360-degree high-definition (HD) from within the surgical theatre. The live-stream feature also supports zoom in and zoom out functions to get a closer view of any aspect of the operation.

The telecast of the surgery will be available through seminar rooms in Royal London Hospital as well as at London's Queen Mary University.

"I am honoured that this patient has given permission for his experience to provide this unparalleled learning opportunity. As a champion of new technology in medicine, I believe that virtual and augmented reality can revolutionise surgical education and training, particularly for developing countries that don't have the resources and facilities of NHS hospitals," said Ahmed in a recent report.

Anyone with access to a VR headset like the £10 Google Cardboard or other consumer headsets such as the Samsung Gear VR along with an iPhone or an Android smartphone, can live-stream and remotely watch the surgery.

Those without the VR headsets can still stream the surgery live via Medical Realities website.