Key takeaways:
- The Beyeonics One system yielded much less muscle stress and stiffness than a standard microscope.
- Utilizing an ophthalmic exoscope might present long-term ergonomic advantages for surgeons.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Utilizing an ophthalmic exoscope with an augmented actuality headset as an alternative of a typical working microscope might yield ergonomic advantages for ophthalmologists, based on a speaker right here.
Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD, who introduced on the Retina World Congress on behalf of Anat Loewenstein, MD, reported that 50% of ophthalmologists expertise neck, higher physique and decrease again ache due to their work.

Picture: Anthony DeFino
“There’s a larger prevalence in comparison with different specialties, and signs are extra frequent in those that spend extra time working,” Kuppermann stated. “It might scale back the longevity of a surgical profession.”
Loewenstein and colleagues enrolled 9 ophthalmic surgeons in a examine to match the surgical ergonomics of a typical working microscope and the Beyeonics One ophthalmic exoscope (Beyeonics Imaginative and prescient), which incorporates an augmented actuality headset. The enrolled surgeons carried out cataract surgical procedure in a synthetic laboratory setting, whereas the researchers measured muscle stress in every participant’s sternocleidomastoid muscle and two higher trapezius factors earlier than, throughout and after the process.
Whereas the surgeons didn’t report any variations in ergonomic expertise, the measurements discovered that the usual working microscope elevated sternocleidomastoid stress throughout surgical procedure by 5.65%, whereas the Beyeonics system didn’t considerably have an effect on muscle stress. Sternocleidomastoid stiffness was additionally larger on the mid-point throughout surgical procedure when utilizing the usual working microscope in contrast with Beyeonics, however there was no important distinction in muscle stress for higher trapezius muscle level one between the 2 microscopes.
“Whereas surgeons might not understand any distinction in ergonomic expertise, their goal muscle qualities present in any other case,” Kuppermann stated. “The Beyeonics One system might scale back intraoperative muscle fatigue in comparison with the usual working microscope and should have long-term impact on musculoskeletal well being, however that is still to be decided.”