Help Lightning

Remote expertise through the power of merged reality

Access to this ground-breaking technology is included at no cost with an InterSurgeon clinician membership. Help Lightning allows experienced surgeons to guide and interactively assist others during operations in real-time, anywhere in the world.

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What are the benefits of Help Lightning for surgeons?

In light of the pandemic, and for the foreseeable future, the conventional ways of establishing collaborative partnerships through physical visits are not going to be possible. However, because Help Lightning allows surgeons to collaborate remotely, partnerships can still develop – and more easily than ever before. Help Lightning can be used as a tool for education, mentorship and instruction – as well as for intraoperative case management. It allows both surgical planning and real-time intraoperative advice.

How does it work?

Watch this video to learn how Help Lightning works. This shows use cases in other industries – it’s every bit as useful with surgical applications and can also be used hands-free. All you need to use Help Lightning is your smartphone and an internet connection, though it can also be used with tablets, desktop computers and smart surgical glasses.

Download a beginner’s guide to Help Lightning here: Help Lightning Basic Training

Virtual help in real-time

Help Lightning uses Merged Reality to blend two real-time video streams – e.g. that of a remote surgical expert and another surgeon that needs help – into a collaborative environment. This Merged Reality allows the expert to virtually reach out and direct real surgical procedures or training.

Help Lightning

Use your existing devices

Help Lightning runs on your existing mobile devices (iOS, Android) or a web-browser on laptop and desktop computers.

Surgeons can now provide remote assistance as though they’re working side-by-side. They can telestrate, freeze images, use hand gestures, and even add real objects into the merged reality environment.

Help Lightning Software

Be there instantly

Help Lightning is easy, fast and intuitive.

Once you’re in a merged reality call with a colleague or customer, simply tap the mode to change how you interact. Choose whether you’re giving or receiving help, and start collaborating in seconds. Help Lightning’s unique Merged Reality can add missing visual cues, gestures, and non-verbal communication methods to any session.

Help Lightning
Help Lightning

Using Help Lightning with smart surgical glasses

Take Help Lightning to the next level by pairing it with smart glasses. This innovation allows the wearer to benefit from the assistance of AI or a third-party while performing surgery. When used in conjunction with Help Lightning, smart glasses mean that another surgeon can see exactly what you are seeing and what you’re doing – and also have their hands superimposed over your field of view.

There are a number of models available from different manufacturers including VUZIX, Zebra, and RealWear.

The Advantage of Remote Expertise

Studies show that adding gestures and nonverbal clues substantially improves the speed of understanding. Furthermore, nonverbal cues are 430% more effective than verbal cues and nonverbal cues make Help Lightning’s combination of verbal and nonverbal communication up to 10 times more effective.

Sources: Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, British Journal of Clinical Psychology

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John N Jabang, MD

John N Jabang, MD

Neurosurgeon

Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Banjul, Gambia

User

Location information

Hospital address

Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital Independence drive Banjul The Gambia PO Box 1515 Gambia

Hospital type

Public

Hospital description

Tertiary/National

Description

Following completion of my Neurosurgery residency in Dakar Senegal in 2015, I returned home to the Gambia and worked as the only Neurosurgeon for a population of 2 million people in Edward Francis Small Teaching hospital, the main referral hospital of the country . I had to start the Unit of Neurosurgery with barely little equipment. As at then, I had to manage my cases without any bipolar, no drill but had a gigli saw, no microscope etc. As for consumables, I only got some from donated items. Shunts were not available in the country so families had to go to neighboring country Senegal to buy until when I involved a vendor to get a reasonable quantity for my patients. June 2016- August 2018, I did my Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery with Pr Shlomi Constantini in Israel after which I returned back to the Gambia to work in the same Hospital. In September 2018, I applied for the post of Lecturer in the school of Medicine, University of the Gambia which is currently being processed where I will be involved in Teaching Medical students (Neuro anatomy, Neuro lectures, Neurologic examination-since there is no neurologist in the country-,) and residents among other accademic engagements. Within the same month, I worked in the Hospital as a Consultant Neurosurgeon, I had seen seen 5 brain tumors ( 2 were operated under very challanging circumstances and for one I had to borrow the gigli saw from a Private clinic I also work for. One was referred to neighboring country because they can afford it and another discharged home and another died. A case of an unstable burst fracture needing surgery could not be done due to lack of rods and peddicle screws. Within this very same period I attended to 6 patients with severe head injury of whom 4 died, currently there are no ventilators in the Hospital and the biochemistry lab is non functional and there is only one ICU for the entire Hospital. Thus it was a month of deep frustration and depression. However I had engaged the new Chief Medical Director who is a General surgeon and I was informed that Ventilators will arrive soon. I have also proposed to him to have a Pediatric ICU in the department of Pediatrics which never existed and to work on improving patient care in the ICU. I have had series of consultations with the Pediatricians and Internist and the roadmap to establishing the Peds ICU and improving the current one is on going, how far and how soon still remain unknown. The Hospital has a CT Scan that is operational but the MRI has never been and technicians were sent to China to to learn how to operate it who just returned and I will ensure its operational as soon as possible. Neurosurgical equipments ( Microscope, drills, consumables etc are still not available) However the Neurosurgical conditions seen are a major burden considering my training vis a vis the plateau technique at my disposal to deliver standard Neurosurgical care.

Finally, I have also started a part time private practice in Medicare Clinic Support Gambia where the proprietor has been able to purchase some basic equipments for craniotomies etc and it was from the clinic that I was given a gigli saw to operate on one of the patients mentioned above with parasagittal meningioma in the public hospital at no cost. The Clinic also bought Chabbra shunts so that patients with hydrocephalus need not to go abroad just to buy one shunt. Consequently I found this clinic as a complimentry to my efforts in the general hospital.
I look forward to any Neurosurgeon or groups who would like to visit the Gambia or assist us in building a standard department of Neurosurgery

Member information

Name

John Nute Jabang

Member type

Individual independent practitioner

Specialty

Neurosurgeon

Subspecialties

  • Trained paediatric neurosurgeon

Languages spoken

  • English
  • French

Professional affiliations / memberships

  • Other

Social profiles

Equipment used

  • CT
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