BRADENTON, Fla. – Dr. Avi Kumar, a board certified orthopedic surgeon with Coastal Orthopedics, is the first physician in the Sarasota/Manatee area to perform shoulder arthroplasty with the assistance of a new mixed reality technology platform, Stryker’s Blueprint Mixed Reality™. Dr. Kumar has been performing the procedure since early 2021 at Coastal Orthopedics’ outpatient surgery center and area hospitals, and is one of only 15 sites in the nation offering the technology to patients during this limited release period.
Blueprint Mixed Reality is the latest software solution from Stryker Trauma & Extremities that allows shoulder arthroplasty surgeons to reference and interact with a holographic representation of their pre-operative Blueprint plan, in real-time, intra-operatively. In the future, the technology will have the potential for a more precise and personalized shoulder replacement compared to traditional surgical options.
“Blueprint Mixed Reality’s 3D holographic models allow me to bring the pre-operative plan into the operating room, in real time, and to visualize implant positioning that assists in surgical decision making,” said Dr. Kumar. “The state-of-the-art technology allows me to tailor shoulder joint replacement procedures to the unique needs and anatomy of my patients. It also gives me the capability to visualize and rotate three-dimensional holographic objects in front of the surgical field.”
Where virtual reality immerses the viewer into a completely virtual world, mixed reality overlays 3D holographic images with real-life, allowing the two to interact. The 3D hologram technology enables a surgeon to maintain a direct view of the surgical site and simultaneously visualize and manipulate a holographic representation of the patient’s native anatomy and pre-operative plan. By using hand gestures and voice commands, the surgeon can interact with a robust data set to optimize the position of the 3D holographic models. This allows the surgeon to replicate the pre-operative plan as closely as possible given the availability of information while operating.
The Blueprint Mixed Reality System is comprised of a Microsoft HoloLens™ 2* virtual lens headset, Blueprint Mixed Reality software and a peripheral display that allows the surgical team to see what the surgeon sees intra-operatively.
For more information about Blueprint, visit ShoulderBlueprint.com.
About Coastal Orthopedics
Founded in 1973 and based in Bradenton, Fla., Coastal Orthopedics is home to 20 orthopedic surgeons and pain management physicians who maintain hospital affiliations with Blake Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. In addition to three offices and two ambulatory surgery centers each servicing Florida’s West Coast, Coastal Orthopedics’ board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians and surgeons provide patients with the very latest in pain and orthopedic treatment technology. The company strives to repair and heal injuries relating to the entire musculoskeletal system.
For more than 45 years, Coastal Orthopedics’ highly skilled staff of physicians and surgeons has treated patients in specialty care, including sports medicine, joint replacement, pain management and rehabilitation. Patients can experience restoration of function both surgically and non-surgically through the use of physician-guided strengthening, therapy, medications, injections and stretching. For more information, please visit CoastalOrthopedics.com or call 941-792-1404.
About Dr. Avi Kumar
Dr. Avi Kumar is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, fellowship-trained in shoulder and elbow surgery. He has been performing reverse total shoulder replacement surgeries since 2004 when it was first FDA approved and has performed over 1500 total shoulders to date, with a success rate of greater than 90% based on patient satisfaction and function. Dr. Kumar has been a key opinion leader for medical device companies and is a selected Peer Reviewer for the Journal of Shoulder & Elbow Surgery. Dr. Kumar is actively involved with research using pulse electromagnetic fields to heal rotator cuff tears. He has also received several U.S. Patents, and is currently working on a medical device for shoulder fractures which is being reviewed by the FDA.
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*Used with permission from Microsoft
For more information, please contact:
Candice Brown-McElyea
360Candice@gmail.com
941-232-9046
*B-Roll video available