Residents of Vero Beach and the wider Indian River County area now have access to a groundbreaking medical technology that was once the stuff of science fiction. Augmented reality is actively reshaping modern orthopedic procedures right here on the Treasure Coast. The integration of advanced surgical tools is providing patients with unprecedented precision and significantly improved outcomes, particularly when it comes to total shoulder replacement procedures.
At the forefront of this local medical advancement is the NextAR augmented reality-based navigation platform. This cutting-edge system enhances traditional shoulder replacement surgery by offering real-time visual guidance utilizing AR overlays and sophisticated tracking tools. By perfectly aligning a surgeon’s comprehensive preoperative plan with the live environment of the operating room, the system allows for remarkable surgical exactness.
Dr. Carl DiLella, a board-certified sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach, is pioneering this technology for local residents. He explains that traditional shoulder replacement relied heavily on plain radiographs or standard X-rays, combined with the surgeon’s experience, to position the implant. The new augmented reality system elevates this process entirely.
The NextAR system goes beyond simple X-rays. Patients undergo a CT scan, which the system uses to build a three-dimensional model of the shoulder. Surgeons use that model to plan the optimal implant size, orientation, and placement tailored to each patient’s unique anatomy.
The meticulous planning phase occurs entirely before the patient enters the operating room. Using the customized three-dimensional model, surgeons can map out all sixteen different implant sizes and various options for the humeral and socket components. They can evaluate the necessary stem sizes, metal components, baseplates, and screw orientations. Predictive modeling even demonstrates how the new shoulder will move. Once this extensive desktop planning is complete, the surgical roadmap is securely transferred to the operating room.
During the surgery, the surgeon wears specialized smart glasses connected to a monitor that directly overlays the preoperative plan onto the surgical field. Infrared trackers attached to the patient’s scapula and the surgical instruments feed live data back to the system. This allows the surgical team to view detailed, real-time guidance without ever having to look away from the patient.
The primary advantage of this technology is absolute precision. While traditional methods could result in alignment deviations of ten to eleven degrees, AR-guided placement drastically reduces that margin to mere fractions of a degree, reaching approximately 0.6 degrees. Accurately aligned implants inherently lead to superior joint function, improved patient mobility, and increased longevity of the joint, with properly positioned implants expected to last fifteen to twenty years.
Dr. DiLella actually performed the first NextAR-assisted shoulder replacement surgery in the state of Florida back in 2020. At that time, imaging data had to be sent to engineers in Switzerland, turning the planning process into a multi-week endeavor. Today, the system acts as a standalone planner within the local clinic, offering incredible benefits to Treasure Coast patients:
Unlike large robotic systems, this augmented reality platform ensures that the surgeon maintains total manual control of the procedure while benefiting from continuous, data-rich guidance. As healthcare continues to advance in the region, residents can take comfort in knowing that perfectly planned, highly accurate orthopedic surgeries are available close to home. Dr. DiLella consults with patients at his Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital practice, located at 1285 36th Street, Suite 100, in Vero Beach.
