Wright Medical Group N.V. (NASDAQ: WMGI), with U.S. Corporate headquarters in Memphis, has announced that the first shoulder arthroplasty procedure was performed using groundbreaking BLUEPRINT Mixed Reality Technology at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota. Joaquin Sanchez-Sotelo, MD, PhD performed the procedure utilizing BLUEPRINT OR Visualization Mixed Reality software, which provides a 3-D holographic view of the patient's pre-operative plan.

Robert Palmisano, president and chief executive officer of Wright, said that the procedure is an important milestone for shoulder arthroplasty and marks a major step in the evolution of BLUEPRINT mixed reality technology in shoulder surgery. For the first time in shoulder arthroplasty, surgeons will be able to interact with their 3-D pre-op plan in real-time to more precisely tailor shoulder joint replacement procedures to the unique needs and anatomy of their patients. By integrating other solutions in the future, such as artificial intelligence, case planning optimization and mixed reality modules for medical education, the BLUEPRINT ecosystem offers an opportunity to significantly reduce variability in the way shoulder arthroplasties are performed, potentially reducing complications and improving overall patient outcomes.

The Mixed Reality Application is the latest addition to Wright's BLUEPRINT ecosystem and enables a surgeon to maintain a direct view of the surgical site and simultaneously visualize and manipulate a holographic representation of the patient's native anatomy and pre-operative plan. By using hand gestures and voice commands, the surgeon can interact with a more robust data set to optimize the position of the 3-D holographic models displayed by the Mixed Reality application.