Application of mixed reality technology in the diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial tumors

Oral and maxillofacial tumors are common oral and maxillofacial surgery-related diseases. Digital surgical technology, represented by virtual surgical design and surgical navigation, is the main auxiliary means of the surgical diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial tumors. However, the existing digital technology still has some problems and room for improvement in terms of 3D visualization imaging and intraoperative hand-eye coordination. At present, the application of 3D visualization technology represented by mixed-reality technology has been rapidly developing in the medical field. It assists in realizing the real-time stereoscopic presentation of medical images by superimposing 3D virtual images onto the real surgical environment. Mixed-reality technology has been gradually applied to the diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial tumors. Preoperatively, mixed-reality technology can be used to construct a 3D model of the tumor and its surrounding vital structures based on imaging data, at which point the medical team can personalize the preoperative assessment and design the surgical plan in the mixed-reality environment. Intraoperatively, the combination of mixed-reality technology and surgical navigation technology can be used to display the 3D virtual model in real time in the actual environment of the operation area, overcoming the hand-eye coordination problem associated with using navigation technology alone and further improving the accuracy and safety of oral and maxillofacial tumor surgery. The combination of mixed-reality technology and internet medical technology can provide a high-quality teaching platform to promote the development of regional oral and maxillofacial surgery practices. The limitations of mixed-reality technology include image occlusion, lack of accuracy when used alone, and long alignment times. In this review, the application of mixed-reality technology to the diagnosis and treatment of oral and maxillofacial tumors will be summarized and assessed by combining information from domestic and international literature reports with the practical clinical experience of the author group.