Surgical planning for congenital heart diseases requires a collaborative approach, traditionally involving the 3D-printing of physical heart models for inspection by surgeons and cardiologists. Recent advancements in mobile augmented reality (AR) technologies have offered a promising alternative, noted for their ease-of-use and portability. Despite this progress, there remains a gap in research exploring the use of multi-user mobile AR environments for facilitating collaborative cardiovascular surgical planning. We are developing ARCollab, an iOS AR application designed to allow multiple surgeons and cardiologists to interact with patient-specific 3D heart models in a shared environment. ARCollab allows surgeons and cardiologists to import heart models, perform gestures to manipulate the heart, and collaborate with other users without having to produce a physical heart model. We are excited by the potential for ARCollab to make long-term real-world impact, thanks to the ubiquity of iOS devices that will allow for ARCollab's easy distribution, deployment and adoption.
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