25 studies in the library address this question.
Several small studies compared them directly and found things to like in VR. Participants preferred a VR liver model over 3D prints and 3D PDFs (Huettl 2021), rated holograms above prints on every category in pediatric heart surgery (Gehrsitz 2021), and judged VSD patch closure feasibility best with VR models in a five-patient double-outlet right ventricle pilot (Peek 2023). In orbital reconstruction, planning with mixed reality was faster and more accurate than a print-based workflow (Dubron 2025). These are small studies, and prints were quicker to read for one task in the liver study.
Study designs: 8 comparative or prospective studies, 1 retrospective study, 8 surveys and user studies, 1 review and 7 case reports, case series and technical reports.
Counts come from the studies' own design labels in the library.
Specialties with enough studies link to a page for that specialty and question.
Dust T et al. · European journal of trauma and emergency surgery · 2026
Orthopedics · Comparative study · n: 22 cases
“Mixed Reality (MR) improved interobserver agreement in preoperative planning for tibial plateau fractures, particularly for surgical approach selection and patient positioning.”
Tsuchiya M et al. · Applied Sciences · 2025
Oral & maxillofacial / craniofacial · Comparative study · n: 11 orbital fractures
“Between modalities, no significant differences were found; HD and RMSE were 2.95 ± 0.94 mm and 1.28 ± 0.49 mm.”
Dubron K et al. · Scientific reports · 2025
Oral & maxillofacial / craniofacial · Comparative study · n: 10 cases
“The total workflow time for MR technology was significantly shorter compared to the conventional method.”
Dust T et al. · Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2025
Orthopedics · Validation study · n: 22 cases
“Diagnostic confidence for AO/OTA differed significantly between modalities (p = 0.045), with the highest values observed for 3DP (76%) and MR (58%) compared to CT (47%).”
p = 0.045
Heidari H et al. · Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024
Adult cardiac & structural heart · Comparative study · n: 10 patients
“In particular, the superior perception of depth was seen as a strength of a 3D visualization.”
Peek JJ et al. · Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery · 2023
Congenital heart · Comparative study · n: 5 patients
“Spatial relationships were generally better visualized using 3D methods (3D printing/3D-VR) than in 2D.”
Gehrsitz P et al. · Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2021
Congenital heart · Comparative study · n: 26 patients
“CR-holograms were superior to 3D prints in all categories (mean Likert scale 4.4 ± 1.0 vs. 3.7 ± 1.3, P < 0.05).”
P < 0.05
Huettl F et al. · Annals of translational medicine · 2021
Hepatobiliary & pancreatic (HPB) · Comparative study · n: 20 cases
“Regarding usability and user experience the VR application achieved the highest scores without causing significant vegetative symptoms and was also the most preferred method (n=22, 73.3%)”
73.3%
Cebrián-Carretero JL et al. · Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
Multi-specialty · Retrospective cohort · n: 308 cases
“Mean preoperative planning time was reduced by 34% (-42 h; 95% CI: -48 to -36 h; p < 0.01) compared with historical controls.”
34%
Lee SY et al. · Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2024
Congenital heart · Survey/user study · n: 3 cases
“Out of these modalities, 76.4% of the specialists ranked VR as the best for understanding the spatial associations between cardiac structures and for presurgical planning.”
76.4%
Bitschi D et al. · Journal of clinical medicine · 2023
Orthopedics · Survey/user study · n: 3 cases
“In addition, the intended patient positioning changed in 16.1% of the cases, the surgical approach in 33.9% and osteosynthesis in 39.3%.”
33.9%
Amparore D et al. · Minerva urology and nephrology · 2022
Urology · Survey/user study
“HoloLens (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) was perceived as the best imaging technology for the surgical planning (50% for prostate and 60% for kidney)”
60%
Muff JL et al. · 3D printing in medicine · 2022
Multi-specialty · Survey/user study
“Possible change in treatment was reported using 3D-Print in 33%, VR-Glasses in 44%, and 3D-Display in 33% of participants.”
44%
Lau I et al. · Biomolecules · 2022
Congenital heart · Survey/user study · n: 2 cases
“The results showed that the MR models were ranked as the best modality amongst the three, and were significantly better than DICOM images in demonstrating complex CHD lesions (mean difference (MD) = 0.76, p = 0.01)”
p = 0.01
Popescu D et al. · Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part H, Journal of engineering in medicine · 2021
Orthopedics · Survey/user study · n: 3 cases
“The following order of using the tools was preferred: DICOM viewer, followed by Unity VR and 3DP.”
Lau I et al. · Biomolecules · 2021
Congenital heart · Survey/user study · n: 4 cases
“VR was perceived as more useful in medical education and preoperative planning compared to 3D printed heart models, although there was no significant difference in the ratings (p = 0.54 and 0.35, respectively).”
p = 0.54
Wellens LM et al. · JAMA network open · 2019
Urology · Survey/user study · n: 10 patients
“In this study, the 3-D kidney models were associated with improved anatomical understanding among the surgeons and can be helpful in future preoperative planning of nephron-sparing surgery for Wilms tumors.”
Weyhe D et al. · Chirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025
Hepatobiliary & pancreatic (HPB) · Narrative review
Martín Cubillo C et al. · Studies in health technology and informatics · 2025
Multi-specialty · Technical development
“Deployed in routine clinical workflows at La Paz University Hospital, the platform has demonstrated reduced preoperative planning times and improved surgical accuracy.”
Charalampous P et al. · Research Square · 2023
Congenital heart · Preprint (technical development) · n: 1 patient
Valls-Esteve A et al. · Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
General & GI surgery · Case series · n: 3 patients
“The results demonstrate that these new imaging and modeling techniques offer a promising alternative for planning complex pediatric oncological cases.”
Huber T et al. · Trials · 2022
Hepatobiliary & pancreatic (HPB) · Trial protocol · n: 100 patients (planned)
Cho KH et al. · Annals of surgery · 2021
Oral & maxillofacial / craniofacial · Case report · n: 1 patient
“Holographic models required less time and cost for fabrication.”
Raimondi F et al. · Journal of cardiac surgery · 2021
Congenital heart · Technical development (case series) · n: 3 patients
“The median post-processing time to get VR models using DIVA was 5 min in comparison to 8 h (range 8-12 h including printing time) for 3D models (PDF/printed).”
5 min
Wake N et al. · Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 25 (ISMRM 2017), abstract 4948 · 2017
Urology · Conference abstract
“These models may alter the surgical plan, and could promote both nephron-sparing surgery and preservation of healthy parenchyma, as surgeons gain a better visualization of the size and location of a tumor in relation to normal tissue and vital structures.”
Summarises published research on VR/AR surgical planning across all platforms. Not product labelling. For Elucis indications see /elucis.
Intended for healthcare professionals.
Summaries and quotes describe each study's methods and the findings its authors report. They are not claims by Realize Medical and may contain errors: please read the original paper. Inclusion is not an endorsement of any product or use.