Augmented reality glasses may help veterinarians navigate complex head and neck surgeries more precisely

Augmented reality (AR) glasses that project 3D diagnostic images directly onto a patient could help veterinary surgeons work with greater spatial accuracy during intricate head and neck procedures, without adding time to the operation, according to a new proof-of-concept study out of the University of California, Davis.¹

"Augmented reality technology has the potential to enhance surgical precision by overlaying 3D diagnostic imaging and biologic information directly onto the animal patient," said Stephanie Goldschmidt, BVM&S, DAVDC, DEVDC, associate professor of dentistry and oral surgery at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the study's senior author.²

The study, published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR), tested that idea directly, asking whether AR-guided visualization could improve spatial accuracy on tasks that mimic real surgical decision-making, such as tracing a tumor's margins.¹ The researchers point to a specific gap in current practice: standard 2D imaging displayed on a monitor doesn't convey depth, so a surgeon has to manually work out where a given point on the scan actually falls on the three-dimensional patient in front of them, often approximating the location rather than pinpointing it.¹ AR glasses are designed to remove that step by projecting the imaging data directly onto the anatomy itself.

Testing accuracy with a holographic dog head

Researchers recruited 22 licensed veterinarians from UC Davis, representing residents and faculty spanning dentistry and oral surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery, to complete tasks using commercially available AR glasses paired with a custom application built for the study.¹ After a brief practice session, participants worked with a holographic 3D model of a dog's head bearing an oral tumor.

Two types of tasks were tested. In "distance" tasks, participants memorized coordinates shown on a separate computer screen, then had to relocate those points on the hologram from memory. In "area" tasks, they traced a region of interest, such as a tumor margin, either from memory or with the outline displayed directly in their AR field of view.¹

The difference between working from memory and working with information displayed directly in the surgical field was significant. Distance error dropped from an average of 3.42 mm when participants worked from memory to 2.73 mm when the target was directly visible, and those direct-view tasks were also completed faster, not slower.¹ For area tracing, accuracy improved even more sharply, with participants covered roughly 63% of the target region correctly when working from memory, compared with roughly 84% when the outline was displayed live in their headset, with time mostly unchanged.¹

That combination is the headline finding, according to the release announcing the study: AR-guided visualization improved spatial accuracy in simulated head and neck procedures without compromising the speed at which participants worked.² For tumor surgery specifically, where precise removal of cancerous tissue while preserving as much healthy tissue as possible is the goal, such precision is clinically notable.²

Where the technology still has rough edges

The study also surfaced some early limits on the hardware and the learning curve. Veterinarians with more than two years of experience posted significantly lower error rates than less-experienced participants, while performance didn't differ significantly by specialty.¹ Participants rated the system's usability at 3.55 out of 5 on average; they found it fairly intuitive to use, but rated its responsiveness lower, and researchers noted hand-tracking lag after extended use of more than 90 minutes.¹

The researchers were careful to note the limits of a proof-of-concept study: the tasks were performed on a holographic simulation, not physical tissue, with a relatively small group of participants from a single institution. The next step, they said, is determining whether these results hold up in an actual clinical setting.¹

For now, the UC Davis team's findings suggest that when surgeons can see spatial information directly in the surgical field, rather than having to recall and translate it from a separate screen, both accuracy and confidence in image-guided procedures stand to improve. As the researchers put it, the results demonstrate "the feasibility and benefit of AR-integration for surgical planning," with clinical validation in live patients as the next test.¹

References

1. Tipirneni Y, Blandino A, Arzi B, Agape-Toupadakis Skourita C, Goldschmidt S. Assessment of augmented reality glasses for spatial tracking and intraoperative annotation in veterinary surgery. Am J Vet Res. Published online June 24, 2026. doi:10.2460/ajvr.25.12.0432
2. New study shows augmented reality glasses have potential to aid veterinarians in canine surgeries. News release. American Veterinary Medical Association. June 24, 2026. Accessed August 24, 2026. https://www.avma.org/news/press-releases/new-study-shows-augmented-reality-glasses-have-potential-aid-veterinarians