SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Surg.
Sec. Orthopedic Surgery
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring XR Technologies for Joint Surgery: Innovations and Clinical ApplicationsView all 3 articles
Orthopedic surgery assisted by mixed reality technology: Systematic review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Bioengineering and Health Technologies Unit, Jesus Uson Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre, Cáceres, Spain
- 2Scientific Direction, Jesús Usón Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre, Cáceres, Spain
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
ABSTRACT Mixed Reality (MR) in the healthcare field provides innovative tools for training, diagnosis, and treatment. It allows professionals to practice surgical procedures in a controlled, risk-free environment, improving skill and reducing error margins, thus offering a more interactive and personalized option for patients. MR aids in the detailed visualization of bone structures and tissues, enabling more precise planning. To conduct this systematic review, a rigorous and structured approach was followed to identify, evaluate, and synthesize relevant studies on the application of MR in orthopedic surgery. The following keywords and combinations were used: 'Extended Reality,' 'Mixed Reality,' 'Orthopedic Surgery,' and 'Surgical Planner' in PubMed and Web of Science over the last 10 years. Studies included in this review met the following exclusion criteria: articles that did not use these technologies, studies on other types of surgery, or were review articles. MR has opened new possibilities in the field of surgery, transforming both the training of medical professionals and the surgical interventions themselves. While there are still challenges in its widespread implementation, the benefits it offers in terms of precision, personalization, and efficiency are undeniable. As this technology continues to evolve, it is expected to have an even greater impact on the medicine of the future, making surgeries safer and improving patient outcomes.
Keywords: Extended Reality, Mixed reality, MR-assisted surgery, orthopedic surgery, Surgical planner
Received: 18 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Salazar Carrasco, Sánchez-Margallo and Sánchez-Margallo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Juan A. Sánchez-Margallo
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.