SightMD Shines a Light on 3D Digital Surgical Visualization

New Study on 3D Digital Surgical Visualization and Cataract Surgery

SightMD Eric D. Rosenberg, DO cornea specialist at SightMD and Co-founder of the Digital Ophthalmic Society, led a retrospective pilot study to investigate whether cataract surgery can be safely performed with 3D digital visualization and at significantly lower coaxial light intensity levels than with a traditional analog operating microscope. The study allowed the team to compare the coaxial light intensity required during cataract surgery and rate of postoperative visual recovery, with surgical visualization achieved with a traditional analog operating microscope compared with a 3D digital visualization system.

Patients undergoing femtosecond laser–assisted cataract surgery were retrospectively grouped into either: (1) visualization using the binoculars of a standard operating microscope (traditional group) or (2) visualization using a 3D digital visualization system affixed to the same operating microscope (digital group). Note was made in each case of light intensity used, light exposure time, intraoperative and/or postoperative complications, and postoperative visual acuities.

The study comprised 24 eyes in the traditional group and 27 eyes in the digital group. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications in either group and no difference in mean light exposure time, but the mean light intensity used in the digital group was significantly less (18.5% ± 1.5%) than that in the traditional group (43.3% ± 3.7%; P < .001). Furthermore, the digital group achieved a postoperative day 1 visual acuity that was within 2 lines of the postoperative month 1 visual acuity a greater percentage of time than that in the traditional group (81.5% of eyes vs 54.2% of eyes; P = .04). Each approach was analyzed for:

light intensity used
light exposure time
intraoperative and/or postoperative complications
postoperative visual acuities

The study findings, which were published in the March 1, 2021, issue of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, showed:

no intraoperative or postoperative complications in either group
no difference in surgical time between the two groups
the mean light intensity used in the digital group was significantly less (18.5 percent ± 1.5 percent) than that in the traditional group (43.3 percent ± 3.7 percent)
the digital group achieved a postoperative day 1 visual acuity within 2 lines of the postoperative month 1 visual acuity a greater percentage of time than that in the traditional group (81.5 percent of eyes versus 54.2 percent of eyes)

Dr. Rosenberg specializes in complex anterior segment and cornea surgery at SightMD in Babylon, NY. He has been selected to lead panels at major national meetings, has won several “Best Paper” awards at ASCRS, and also heads ground-breaking clinical trials. Dr. Rosenberg is actively involved in teaching residents at both Northwell and New York Medical College, and is the founder of the Digital Ophthalmic Society, which leads the way in how digitization will shape ophthalmology in the future. He has published more than 25 articles, five book chapters, and “Operative Dictations in Ophthalmology”, a textbook used throughout the world. He is passionate about education and the meshing of technology, engineering, and medicine. Dr. Rosenberg has been selected as a “Rising Star Super Doctor” by The New York Times since 2021.