A Google Cardboard viewer was recently used by doctors for a life-saving surgery on a baby born with one lung and a malfunctioning heart. The virtual reality (VR) headset provided surgeons with 3D images and a detailed view of the infant's heart.    

At first doctors thought they could not perform an operation on 4-month-old Teegan Lexcen's heart. That was due to the limits of 2D images.

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The baby needed the operation to save her life. In fact, Teegan was so sick doctors told her parents that she could only survive if the heart surgery was performed immediately, according to CNN.  

Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami then asked search giant Google for help. Google Cardboard costs about $20 and can function with any smartphone model and a mobile app.

Surgeons converted 2D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the baby patient's heart into a 3D model. They then uploaded it to an iPhone device and viewed it using Google's VR headset, which allowed them to watch the surgery, according to Quartz.

VR images helped the surgeons to make the first cut. The open-heart heart surgery lasted for 7 hours as they rebuilt Teegan's aorta (blood vessel) using heart tissue, and then linked the aorta to a key artery.

Dr. Juan-Carlos Muniz is head of the hospital's MRI program. He explained that by tiling his head he could see the baby's heart as if he were physically in the operating room.  

On January 6, Wednesday, baby Teegan was disconnected from a ventilator one month after her surgery. She is now breathing on her own and can return after a few weeks.

Cassidy Lexcen is the baby's mother. She called the operation "mind-blowing" because a cardboard box and mobile phone helped to save her daughter's life.  

Google Cardboard was released in 2014. It was invented by two engineers at the Google Cultural Institute in Paris.

Several third-party products are available for the cheap VR headset. They include ones from Volvo, Mattel, LG Electronics, The New York Times, and Disney's Star Wars.  

Meanwhile, Google's Expeditions program provides schools with a Cardboard classroom kit. It includes 30 VR viewers and smartphones, and one tablet computer for the teacher.