The Holographic Navigation Platform, as Scopis calls it, projects a mixed-reality overlay on the patient through the HoloLens during a surgical procedure. Surgeons can use it to track pedicle screws and use gestures to adjust virtual displays like a customizable HUD, keeping important numbers in their field-of-view.

Obviously, improving accuracy with Scopis' 3D-positioning tech would likely reduce surgery time and invasive depth. But using visual overlay technology would also cut down on the radiation exposure that comes with the current spine-envisioning method of fluoroscopy. As we noted in the Duke tests, wearing the wireless HoloLens headset is far less cumbersome than prior mixed reality setups. But a private company betting on Microsoft's AR system is another step toward integrating the tech into professional use.