Apple Vision Pro Used in World-First Cataract Surgery

[Sill]

Wake me up when AVP looks like Star Treks Jordy headband vision thingy. 😎

Free with waits > Functionally nothing for a huge swath of the population that basically doesn't have anything (can't afford massive deductible and/or not worth using it due to that)

Good point to consider.

The AMA restricting the number of medical schools is barely the problem.. there aren't enough nurses, period. Not in specific areas, but nation-wide. For every MD/DO you have, you need 3-4 nurses, and for surgeons, triple that.

Very good point right there. Nurses are the gears of the operation.

Everyone has a reason why one is better than the other. My sister lives in Canada and loves the system there compared to here. She had 32 years of it in the US, and 8 in Canada. She was just bragging a few days ago on FB how she was able to get in and get treatment for a particular issue on her meager teaching salary, and her total out of pocket was less than $10 CAD.

I've worked in hospital healthcare for well over a decade now. It's world-class, and completely unaffordable and unattainable for a significant percentage of the population.

There's a long list of reasons for that. Most of them are common knowledge, some aren't.

Mean time counts all the little dinky hospitals in the country, which there are a lot of. Yes these do count, but narrow your search down by Metro areas and check again.

Anyway, I don't want to argue. My only point is that the US healthcare system is overpriced and broken..others are as well, ours is too. As I said before, it's unaffordable and unattainable for a large portion of the population. Affluent users discussing the AVP are not the 30% of the population that can barely afford the gasoline needed to drive to the ER, let alone have their cataracts fixed.

One of the major reasons for long wait times in major metropolitan areas is that many of them have a large population of illegal aliens. No medical history, no insurance, but the hospitals have to treat them. Political hot button, I get it, but its still a big contributor towards wait times.

You're right, it is insurance, and drug companies, and medical device companies. The people that pay little to nothing (which many do here, as we are public service hospital) are able to do because everyone else gets higher rates. We take homeless people, and don't even know their real name, so they don't have medicaid, or medicare, or even an ID. We just eat it, but they get the same treatment as everyone else. I don't know a single person that actually works in hospital healthcare that thinks we have a great system. Not from the CEO down to the EVS. Everyone knows it's very very broken...seriously, I have never met one.

You left out one enormous factor, the one that enables all the rest : government. Not just regulations but government period. Read some of Ron Paul's excellent but brief articles on the contrast between when he started as a Texas obstetrician in the early 1960s vs how things began to change when "managed care" and the HMO system came into being. It's a giant rats' nest of a story that keeps feeding itself and adding layers of cost upon layers.

Funny you mention an appendix, that is what my sister had done in London, Ontario. It cost her $8 CAD, total, including pain medication.

The part about not paying is why many rural hospitals are getting ready to close. Not paying sounds your bill sounds nice, but it doesn't pay the employees or the for the building, and since the federal government is trying to cut medicare/medicaid to basically nothing, there is no other source of income.

Back on topic.. If I have to get cataract surgery done at some point, I'd rather they not use an AVP. 😛 Fun fact, ophthalmic surgeons are one of the highest paid.

We have contrasting views of USA medicine vs Canada here. Some people have horror stories and some have great things to say about either side of this, so it appears that the argument is actually socialized medicine vs free market. But it's not. The medical system in the USA is getting very close to socialized with the enormous government interference and basically the same people who caused the problem now saying "give us more control and more money and we can fix this thing that we helped create". So the USA medical system is hardly "free market".

A few years back I was reading an American columnist who was in Belize, I believe, for vacation. He had a medical event of some kind so he went to a local clinic. A clean office, friendly staff, all spoke excellent English. With no wait time he saw a doctor who did a very thorough history and exam, and the doc determined that the columnist should get an MRI. He was able to book a visit the same day, walk to the imaging office, and get it done. It was reviewed by a staff radiologist and he had his diagnosis and a prescription for whatever the condition was. I think he spent a total of 4-5 hours and under $150 for everything, which he paid for in cash. No insurance involved, and somehow he received this excellent service without the hands of government all over everything.

I know everyone has an agenda, and the columnist could have been glossing over things to prove a point about the free market. I'm also sure I'm not doing the story justice by leaving out some details, but it's been about 8 years since I last read it. Even so, I think its a valuable perspective to have because it shows there are ways that are better than the USA and Canadian systems, and it shows that we should think outside that "paradigm" if we want to look for better solutions.

 

[acslater017]

The Apple Vision Pro is a Rorschach Test. People who expected mainstream affordability and adoption were disappointed and are comparing it against blockbuster, once-in-a-generation hits like the iPhone. But not everything needs to be "the next iPhone". I'm a Day 1 Apple Vision Pro user and think it's an amazing piece of tech, and a huge swing for the fences from a company people have criticized as iterative and un-innovative.

If they simply marketed it differently, the narrative would be completely different. Knowing that it was heavy and $3,500, they should have leaned into the high-end pro user angle - the surgeons, the pilots, the designers, and A/V enthusiasts rather than showing rich ladies shopping for furniture in their living room, or office workers using it in their cubicles to write email.

People who claim "development has stopped" obviously haven't been paying attention. Apple and 3rd party devs have been adding tons of features and have addressed probably 85% of my Day 1 complaints about the software: Mac Virtual Display, unbelievably good Personas, support for GoPro/Insta360/Canon cameras, YouTube, partnerships with sports like NBA/PGA/MLB, Immersive Video content, Steamlink, PSVR2 controller support, improved guest mode and collaboration features, widgets, new Environments. The hardware received a huge leap from M1 to M5, increased battery life, a new band that partially addressed ergonomic issues, and improved passthrough cameras (which were already best-in-class).

Sure, in many ways it's like the 1st gen Apple Watch with its "send your heartbeat" features trying to find its purpose. It needs better app support, even from Apple's 1st party apps. It needs to get cheaper and smaller. But I find that most of people claiming it's a massive failure tend to finish their complaints with "maybe I'd consider it if it was half the price". Perhaps it may always be a high-end Apple device, akin to an XDR Display or Mac Pro and never sell more than the low millions. And that's perfectly fine.

 

[dampfnudel]

AVP is not a device that one can slip into their pocket and take it anywhere and slip it out to use it at a moments notice. In its present form factor it’s nothing more than a hobby or proof-of-concept.

AVP deviates from Apple’s philosophy of having a device disappear while being useful, powerful and capable to the user.

In other words, that’s the reason they’re working on Apple Glasses.

 

[wigby]

it’s not like Apple hasn’t addressed these limitations of data bandwidth in the past with creative solutions such as with the 30” Cinema Display where it used two cables. It was not pretty but it worked.

Having two Thunderbolt 5 connections either parallel or one upstream and one down would work. Or possibly utilizing compression and still retaining an acceptable level of usability. What you mention are literally limitations that excite engineers to find solutions not stop them from pushing beyond the limitations.

I dislike saying this but Steve Jobs would have pushed the hardware limits. Tbh there is nothing cool about ski googles that have already been done by competitors years prior. Granted there is some Apple flair but that’s about it.

This is not a bandwidth issue like your Cinema Display example, it's a latency issue. Local processing of RAM is the only way to reduce latency enough for the requirements of AVP. And Steve Jobs would've cringed at the idea of a headset tethered to a CPU by a bunch of thick cables.

 

[jimscard]

Apple's Vision Pro has hit another medical-use milestone, with a New York ophthalmologist becoming the first surgeon to perform cataract surgery using the spatial computing headset.

Dr. Eric Rosenberg of SightMD completed the initial procedure in October 2025 and has since performed hundreds of additional cases using ScopeXR, a surgical platform he co-developed for Apple's mixed reality device.

ScopeXR streams live feeds from 3D digital surgical microscopes directly into the Vision Pro, which lets the surgeon view the operative field in stereoscopic 3D while overlaying preoperative diagnostic data. The platform also supports real-time remote collaboration, allowing surgeons to virtually join procedures and see exactly what the operating surgeon sees.
It's another example of Apple's move toward enterprise and professional use cases for Vision Pro, with widespread consumer adoption beleaguered by the headset's $3,499 starting price and bulky form factor. Apple has increasingly leaned into specialized applications in fields like medicine, aviation training, and industrial design - markets where the device's capabilities can justify its cost, in other words.

The headset was never expected to be mass-market from day one, according to Apple. Even so, enthusiasm is said to have cooled far faster than anticipated. Based on the latest reports, there are now no Apple Vision headsets in active development, with the company's focus pivoting to lightweight smart glasses, where Meta has already seen success. Last October, Apple introduced an updated Vision Pro model featuring the M5 chip, the first hardware revision of the device.

Article Link: Apple Vision Pro Used in World-First Cataract Surgery

Apple should focus on this type of market for Vision products and drop the smartglasses nonsense (if they actually are working on them).


Advanced Spatial computing has clear benefits in many business scenarios, while smart glasses are just a privacy nightmare that's about to come to a head. Let Meta & RayBan deal with the fallout of people using them to violate other peoples' rights.

 

[jimscard]

In other words, that’s the reason they’re working on Apple Glasses.

I sincerely hope not, since smart glasses violate an even more important Apple principle - protecting peoples' privacy. The only way they could do that would be to have display-only glasses.

 

[svish]

Good to see the use of device in the health space. As for consumers, the device has a long way to go before it becomes widely adopted or maybe it will eventually lead to AR glass which will be the one for consumers.

 

[code-m]

This is not a bandwidth issue like your Cinema Display example, it's a latency issue. Local processing of RAM is the only way to reduce latency enough for the requirements of AVP. And Steve Jobs would've cringed at the idea of a headset tethered to a CPU by a bunch of thick cables.

Nah it didn’t stop him from utilizing it for the 30” ACD. 😎

Latency, how are AVP users surfing the web, videos, remote Mac display, etc on a non-WiFi 7 device. If that WiFi connection has been suitable for two versions of AVP then you latency argument is moot as in even a wired TB5 connection will do the job.

 

[newyorksole]

Wow, “beleaguered”. Haven’t heard that term used in Apple reporting since the bad old days of the 90s.

 

[The Game 161]

pretty cool

i use mine to watch NBA, football, youtube and movies 😂

 

[drunkaviator]

At least they found a use for the advanced tech inside the Vision Pro, and it's not going to waste because there's literally no use for it as a consumer device.

 

[amartinez1660]

No health care system is free. There is massive trades off that the free health care system holds you hostage when you can have elective surgeries done.

People don’t actually care, in the world we live in today governments have somehow managed to make people pay up to 50% in all sorts of taxes (“income tax” is only one of the many paid with salary) and yet still believe that it’s “free health care”, proudly wear that badge and even fight those that point this out.

Not only you will be set aside and penny pinched on the best procedures for each health situation, things like getting a quick Dr’s check up can take months for the appointment, it will be barely 15mins, if he asks for x or y blood exam (it will never be a complete blood test panel) and you won’t even get a copy of the results in your hands.

Found this about Canada, pretty sure is the same in most “free” places.

 

[Chastepe]

One of Apple's failure with Vision Pro is that even if you buy it from a country which is officially sold, you cannot even activate it with your local account to a non supported country. This is nonsense. I understand this is a niche product but why not be able to buy it and use it anywhere with your mac with your local account?

 

[I7guy]

He co-developed the app, it seems like a hubris shameless plug to promote his app.

One could possibly do remote surgery with a mobile phone, who wants to be the guinea pig. 😝

The old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” applies here.

 

[code-m]

The old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” applies here.

Except Apple didn’t create AVP for surgery. While it has demonstrated possibilities it’s more of a blank canvas. As the old saying goes, “Jack of All Trades, Master of None”.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The Apple Vision Pro is a Rorschach Test. People who expected mainstream affordability and adoption were disappointed and are comparing it against blockbuster, once-in-a-generation hits like the iPhone. But not everything needs to be "the next iPhone". I'm a Day 1 Apple Vision Pro user and think it's an amazing piece of tech, and a huge swing for the fences from a company people have criticized as iterative and un-innovative.

If they simply marketed it differently, the narrative would be completely different. Knowing that it was heavy and $3,500, they should have leaned into the high-end pro user angle - the surgeons, the pilots, the designers, and A/V enthusiasts rather than showing rich ladies shopping for furniture in their living room, or office workers using it in their cubicles to write email.

People who claim "development has stopped" obviously haven't been paying attention. Apple and 3rd party devs have been adding tons of features and have addressed probably 85% of my Day 1 complaints about the software: Mac Virtual Display, unbelievably good Personas, support for GoPro/Insta360/Canon cameras, YouTube, partnerships with sports like NBA/PGA/MLB, Immersive Video content, Steamlink, PSVR2 controller support, improved guest mode and collaboration features, widgets, new Environments. The hardware received a huge leap from M1 to M5, increased battery life, a new band that partially addressed ergonomic issues, and improved passthrough cameras (which were already best-in-class).

Sure, in many ways it's like the 1st gen Apple Watch with its "send your heartbeat" features trying to find its purpose. It needs better app support, even from Apple's 1st party apps. It needs to get cheaper and smaller. But I find that most of people claiming it's a massive failure tend to finish their complaints with "maybe I'd consider it if it was half the price". Perhaps it may always be a high-end Apple device, akin to an XDR Display or Mac Pro and never sell more than the low millions. And that's perfectly fine.

Quoted to refer back to when it gets cancelled. 😉

 

[I7guy]

Except Apple didn’t create AVP for surgery. While it has demonstrated possibilities it’s more of a blank canvas. As the old saying goes, “Jack of All Trades, Master of None”.

That’s a great thing not a problem that the AVP is useful in multiple circumstances. We want the AVp, iPhone, MacBook to be a jack of all trades. Glad we see eye to eye.

 

[iDento]

AS a dentist who uses an iMac in every room of his practice and questions my loyalty to Apple every day, because why not use stupid trash Windows machines that are way cheaper? I want to ask Dr. Eric, why didn’t you use a Quest Pro?

 

[PBG4 Dude]

AS a dentist who uses an iMac in every room of his practice and questions my loyalty to Apple every day, because why not use stupid trash Windows machines that are way cheaper? I want to ask Dr. Eric, why didn’t you use a Quest Pro?

This is the surface pro in my doctor’s office. Note the binder clip keeping it together.

 

[wigby]

Nah it didn’t stop him from utilizing it for the 30” ACD. 😎

Latency, how are AVP users surfing the web, videos, remote Mac display, etc on a non-WiFi 7 device. If that WiFi connection has been suitable for two versions of AVP then you latency argument is moot as in even a wired TB5 connection will do the job.

You keep confusing streaming for computing which requires bi-directional, low latency interaction. Think about playing a 3D game with no controller using AVP. You're not just watching the game stream but actually playing it while looking around and using your real hands to interact. Sony's latest headset uses a thick cable but has lower frame rate, noticeable lag, 1/3 the resolution of AVP and no mixed reality element at all. If externally tethered hardware was a viable option for pro hardware, we would see older PC chassis being upgraded every year using the latest CPU/GPU outside of the chassis to save money but aside from some specialized GPU arrays, we don't see it.

 

[MakaniKai]

This is the surface pro in my doctor’s office. Note the binder clip keeping it together.

View attachment 2625836

That's a massive fire hazard and should be reported

 

[iDento]

This is the surface pro in my doctor’s office. Note the binder clip keeping it together.

View attachment 2625836

I paid $9,000 extra for a Medit IntraOral scanner so I can use it in my beloved $2,200 MacBook Pro. I wish I could do the same for every piece of equipment we have; unfortunately, we still have to use Windows for many things.

 

[I7guy]

AVP is not a device that one can slip into their pocket and take it anywhere and slip it out to use it at a moments notice. In its present form factor it’s nothing more than a hobby or proof-of-concept.

AVP deviates from Apple’s philosophy of having a device disappear while being useful, powerful and capable to the user.

Hmm. Are you the gatekeeper of apples philosophy.

 

[ericr29]

AS a dentist who uses an iMac in every room of his practice and questions my loyalty to Apple every day, because why not use stupid trash Windows machines that are way cheaper? I want to ask Dr. Eric, why didn’t you use a Quest Pro?

I have a quest pro. Love it for population one, but the resolution wasn’t good enough for surgery. To answer another question on here latency was 70ms 🙂 anything under 100 most experienced surgeons can’t see the delay.

 

[code-m]

Hmm. Are you the gatekeeper of apples philosophy.

Well recent rumour reports that Apple considers AVP a flop. Let’s wait for official confirmation. 😉