KALAMAZOO, MI—Stryker recently announced that the first shoulder arthroplasty surgeries using Blueprint Mixed Reality (MR) Guidance have been successfully completed by Dr. Joaquin Sanchez-Sotelo, MD, PhD, Consultant and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Dr. George Athwal at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Canada.
“Mixed reality technology offers important benefits to patients,” said Dr. Sanchez-Sotelo, one of the Blueprint design surgeons. “This technology allows the surgeon to plan and execute the surgery based on precise images of the patient’s shoulder, thereby minimizing the risk of improper placement of the implant. This is individualized care tailored to each patient’s anatomy.”
Designed by a team of world-class surgeons, the Blueprint MR Guidance System combines Stryker's innovative software with the Microsoft HoloLens 2* headset, allowing the surgeon to track the position and orientation of surgical instrumentation in the physical environment. Blueprint MR Guidance allows surgeons and their instruments to be ‘guided’ by 3D images and guidance widgets, which can be displayed on the patient and in the surgeon’s line of sight without disrupting normal workflow. The MR Guidance system received FDA clearance in January 2023.
“The addition of Mixed Reality Guidance to our Blueprint platform has the potential to benefit the entire shoulder arthroplasty market – surgeons and patients alike,” said Tim Lanier, president of Stryker’s Trauma & Extremities division. “Now that Mixed Reality Guidance has officially entered the operating room, our surgeons will have access to the most innovative technology available, enabling more precise surgical results and allowing for improved results for patients.”
Blueprint Mixed Reality OR Visualization, the previous iteration of Stryker’s Blueprint Mixed Reality, has been used by over 50 surgeons and in more than 3,500 shoulder replacement procedures globally. To learn more about Blueprint and Mixed Reality, visit shoulderblueprint.com.
Stryker anticipates the completion of the first case utilizing the Blueprint Mixed Reality (MR) Guidance System in Europe in February, marking a significant milestone in advancing surgical technology globally.
