Project CONVERGENCE
Delivering Among the Most Advanced Surgical Care Available Today
Through Project CONVERGENCE, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has partnered with
Verizon, Medivis, and Microsoft to provide Veterans with the one of the first 5G medical
campuses in the United States. The initiative, led by VA’s National Center for Collaborative
Healthcare Innovation, brings Verizon’s 5G technology together with: (1) an
FDA-approved use
case in Medivis’ Surgical augmented reality clinical visualization software (SurgicalAR);
and (2) Microsoft’s HoloLens2 headset and Azure cloud service.
Together, these tools
will
improve the quality and speed of health care delivery at VA and in the broader health care
community.
More About Project CONVERGENCE
The surgical community largely relies on 2D-imaging technology to understand patient anatomy and pathology. Using Medivis’ FDA-approved SurgicalAR software and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 headset, VA clinicians will now be able to translate 2D images in 3D holographic representations in augmented reality via the Verizon 5G network. Further, VA physicians will now be able to better plan and prepare for surgery by being able to view and orient themselves to the patient’s internal anatomy.
By delivering the first-ever
5G-enabled augmented reality surgical navigation system, VA is now equipped to deliver the
most advanced surgical care available. This trailblazing technology will allow VA health
care providers to view patients’ anatomy in pre-surgical preparation and intervention.
Dr. Thomas Osborne, Director for NCCHI
“We have both an opportunity and responsibility to lead the discovery of solutions that improve the health and wellness of our Veterans. Groundbreaking collaborative partnerships like this are an important part of our future success. As the largest integrated health care system in the United States, these advances have the potential to have far-reaching positive impact. Although our work is focused on Veterans, it is also expected to benefit other individuals and organizations, thanks to VA’s authority to partner with others.”