HoloStroke-CTA
HoloStroke-CTA
Embedded Files
Interactive 3D holographic imaging for at-a-glance stroke assessment
HoloStroke-CTA transforms standard CT angiography studies into interactive 3D holograms that stroke teams can examine spatially — rotating, slicing, and exploring cerebral vasculature using mixed-reality headsets at the bedside or in the reading room.
1.9 million neurons.
1.9 million neurons.
Per minute.
Per minute.
That's the cost of delay in a large vessel stroke.
Stroke teams don't have time to think in 2D.
Stroke teams don't have time to think in 2D.
Acute stroke care moves in minutes, not hours. But standard CT angiography forces clinicians to mentally rebuild three-dimensional anatomy from dozens of flat slices — every time, under pressure, with millions of neurons on the line. The tools that support this workflow have barely changed in twenty years.
HoloStroke-CTA changes the inputs.
HoloStroke-CTA changes the inputs.
A CTA study contains spatial information. We show it spatially — as an interactive 3D hologram the stroke team can examine at a glance, the way the brain is built to process three-dimensional structure.
What HoloStroke-CTA does
What HoloStroke-CTA does
HoloStroke-CTA takes a standard CT angiography study and renders the patient's cerebral vasculature as an interactive 3D hologram. Wearing a mixed-reality headset, the stroke team can:
Rotate and inspect the vasculature from any angle, in real space
Highlight arteries, veins, or specific vascular territories on demand
Slice through complex regions with intuitive clipping planes
Adjust window/level and rendering presets without leaving the case
Strip away non-vascular structures to focus on what matters
Interaction is hand-tracked. There's no mouse, no scroll wheel, no slice-by-slice tracing. Clinicians explore the anatomy the way they would a physical model — because that's how the brain processes three-dimensional structure.
Clinical validation
Clinical validation
In our IRB-approved comparative studies, HoloStroke-CTA significantly improved vessel identification accuracy across experience levels — with the largest gains on the most clinically challenging vessels. Trainees and fellows showed the steepest learning gains, suggesting HoloStroke-CTA reduces the experience curve that has long limited frontline stroke imaging.
Weibel, N., Shifflett, B., Liu, W., Lin, J., Pirahanchi, Y., Bowers, J., Ravi, V., Carrión‐Penagos, J., Mortin, M., Hailey, L. and Bolar, D.S., 2025. Holo‐Stroke‐CTA: Stroke Hologram Teleportation for CTA Large Vessel Occlusion Assessments. Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology, 5(3), p.e001713.
Published in Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology, American Heart Association, 2025
Most difficult vessels
Most difficult vessels
39% → 94%
+141% relative improvement
Trainees / Fellows
Trainees / Fellows
72% → 97%
+35% relative improvement
Overall accuracy
Overall accuracy
81% → 94%
+16% relative improvement
User satisfaction
User satisfaction
39% → 96%
+146% relative improvement
Speed was unchanged — assessments completed in under 1.5 minutes, comparable to standard 2D review. The accuracy gains came at no time cost.
In active use
In active use
HoloStroke-CTA is currently deployed at UC San Diego Health as part of an ongoing quality improvement initiative within the UCSD Stroke Center, one of the country's leading comprehensive stroke programs. The system is in regular use by the stroke team for real patient cases, generating real-world evidence that informs continued development.
This deployment matters for two reasons.
First, it means HoloStroke-CTA has been validated not just in controlled studies but in the conditions stroke teams actually work in — under time pressure, with imperfect studies, on a heterogeneous patient population.
Second, it gives us a continuous feedback loop with the clinicians who will ultimately use the product, which is rare for medical XR tools at this stage.
Additional deployments at UC partner sites and regional hospitals are planned through 2026.
Built by clinicians and computer scientists at UC San Diego.
Built by clinicians and computer scientists at UC San Diego.
HoloStroke-CTA is a visualization and clinical decision support tool intended to augment established stroke imaging workflows, not replace them.
Final clinical interpretation remains with qualified clinicians and radiologists.
The system is currently in research and quality improvement use under IRB oversight at UC San Diego Health.
FDA 510(k) clearance is being pursued.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse