'Game-changing': New hologram surgery technology deployed in Sydney hospital

New hologram technology is being used by a Sydney hospital to revolutionise the way surgeries are performed.

It looks like virtual-reality gaming, in which a player in a headset can interact with a three-dimensional world invisible to the rest of us.  

The technology is the future of medicine: mixed-reality surgery that conjures up holograms of a patient's individual anatomy and their surgery plan to create a real-time 3D interactive guide for their surgeon.

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The technology boosts the doctor's accuracy and improves results for patients.

"This is the beauty of this new technology I can see it live," Dr Timothy Yeoh, orthopaedic surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital, said.

Until now, surgeons have had to rely on two-dimensional images on computer screens or print-outs to picture and plan their operations.

The technology has been described as "game-changing" by doctors who have used it in the US.

Danny Hughes, 76, underwent a mixed reality shoulder replacement for the first time in NSW at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst.

His shoulder was worn out and causing him pain.

"You can't move you can't sleep," Mr Hughes said.

"He's got pretty severe arthritis of his shoulder, he can't really even elevate his arms to the shoulder height without being in pain," Dr Yeoh said.

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Dr Yeoh wore a Blueprint Mixed Reality headset to access 3D holograms during Mr Hughes' shoulder surgery.

When wearing the headset, he could manipulate the holograms via hand gestures or voice commands.

"I can move it into the surgical field and really get that confidence that we're being accurate to our plan," Dr Yeoh said.

The holograms are generated by the system's software through pre-operative CT scans.

The technology has been compared to the popular game Pokemon Go, combining real-world scenarios with computer-made overlay.

"The mixed reality technology is probably the most exciting thing that's happened in shoulder replacements over the last five years," Dr Yeoh said.

There are plans for the technology to eventually be used as a navigation tool.

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Mixed-reality technology is expected to be expanded to other operating theatres where it would provide clear advantages such as neurological, spinal and vascular surgeries.

It can also be used in training and to tap into the expertise and collaborate around the world, with surgeons able to share operative vision via headsets.