Usefulness of a head mounted monitor device for viewing intraoperative fluoroscopy during orthopaedic procedures.

We report our case series involving the use of a MicroOptical (MicroOptical Corporation, Westwood, MA, USA) head mounted, computer display monitor during orthopaedic procedures such as open reduction and internal fracture fixations and spinal pedicle screw placement. Since the MicroOptical viewer does not fully obstruct the surgeon's direct vision, he/she may continue to operate and focus on the operative field while viewing the MicroOptical image. Our first 50 clinical applications demonstrate that when viewing the MicroOptical monitor there is a significant reduction in the total number of times the surgeon left the attention of the operative field and/or may have been exposed to fluoroscopy radiation by unprotected body turn exposure. In addition, the MicroOptical viewer did not cause any surgical field viewing obstruction during surgical procedures and there was not a difference in reported surgeon eye fatigue when comparing the MicroOptical viewer to standard fluoroscopy.