Field Hospital in Ukraine

LTR: Dr. Elena Delugy watches the operation in Israel and offers real time guidance. Dr. Michael Segal in Ukraine conducts the surgery (wearing the HoloLens)

Schneider Children's medical team, which returned recently from Ukraine, conducted an emergency operation in a 16-year-old youth who arrived at the "Shining Light" field hospital set up by Israel.

Andrei arrived at the pediatric section of the field hospital with a severe stomach ache. Dr. Eran Mashiah and Dr. Keren Shachar-Nissan, both senior pediatricians in the Department of Emergency Medicine (ER) at Schneider, examined the youth and diagnosed appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix). After consultation with team members, they decided Andrei had to undergo emergency surgery. Dr. Michael Segal, who is a resident in the Surgery Department at Schneider, performed the operation while receiving distance guidance from Dr. Elana Delugy, senior surgeon at Schneider, who was in Israel. The surgery was successful and Andrei recovered well.

Dr. Segal wore virtual reality glasses (hololens) which were donated by Microsoft Israel for the purpose of the mission in Ukraine. The hololens allowed Dr. Delugy to view the operation in real time from the perspective of the surgeon and was able to provide precise guidance. This was accorded through cooperation between the cloud system in the information and digital division of Clalit Health Services, Microsoft, and Schneider Children's. The solution is based upon Tyms technology assimilated by Clalit and smart glasses that allow doctors in the hospital to view another doctor in the operating room.

Dr. Segal stated that "we conducted the first operation in a 16-year-old who needed emergency surgery. It was a huge honor and very exciting to help and contribute our abilities to others through outstanding cooperation with our support team at Schneider Children's in Israel, from whom we received distance guidance through advanced technology."

Together with his eight colleagues from Schneider, Dr. Segal treated hundreds of children over the past two weeks in the "Shining Star" field hospital that Israel set up in Mostyska in western Ukraine.