Why Go Virtual?
Immersive technologies provide novel, cost effective solutions in healthcare, and applications are only expected to grow. Forbes Magazine reports that healthcare applications involving AR, VR, and MR are on track to reach nearly $10 billion dollars by 2027.
That’s a growth of 3.5 times over the current value of $2.7 billion. Given the many advantages, and the few predictable disadvantages, it wouldn’t be surprising to see even more explosive growth in the future.
Extended reality technologies, including AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed reality) offer numerous advantages for healthcare applications, whether used alone or alongside traditional technologies.
Immersive technologies require fewer resources, as tools, objects, and environments are simulated. Immersive simulations are also more scalable than traditional physical resources.
Virtual environments also offer a way for practitioners to work and communicate with one another and with patients. This will be a boon for information sharing, as well as for remote consultation and treatment.
Finally, recent studies have shown that extended reality technologies offer higher quality results in both training and treatment.
Current Applications in Healthcare
Immersive technologies involving virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, are helping practitioners take healthcare to the next level in a number of areas, particularly education and mental health treatment. These are just a few examples:
Practitioner Education
Practicing procedures in a high quality virtual environment provides a risk-free way for learning new techniques. Students can witness the results of mistakes without real-life consequences. Virtual procedures can also lower educational costs by eliminating the need for physical resources, such as cadavers.
It’s an effective teaching tool. In 2022, for example, Case Western Reserve put Microsoft’s HoloAnatomy to the test against traditional training using cadavers. Medical students found it easier to learn anatomy using the study’s MR learning modules. Students also enjoyed learning with mixed reality. Finally, they performed better on subsequent quizzes than students who learned using cadavers.
Haptic systems, which incorporate the sensation of touch, offer particularly exciting possibilities for training and education. Haptic VR by Fundamental VR, for example, provides realistic surgical training in an immersive virtual environment, realistically simulating the sensations of bone, tissue, and muscle, as well as the use of different medical devices and tools.
Patient Education
Consumer-level virtual applications can empower patients to learn about their conditions, accurately describe symptoms, and explore treatments and facilities from the safety and comfort of their own homes.
One free AR app for the smartphone, EyeDecide, provides 3D information to patients about eye anatomy, common conditions, and solutions. The app also allows patients to search for eye care providers based on geography, insurance type, and more.
Stanford University’s "virtual heart" uses immersive VR to educate medical students, families, and patients about heart defects. Instead of trying to understand what’s going on inside the heart using traditional 2D diagrams, laypeople can explore the heart virtually, from the inside out.
Medical Research
Medical Research: Immersive technology can be used to visualize complex medical data, such as MRI or CT scans, in a more intuitive way. This can help researchers identify patterns and relationships that may not be immediately apparent in traditional 2D representations.
Medical Procedures
Augmented reality systems can project major vessels, nerves, and so forth onto the surgical area during a procedure. This can result in greater navigational accuracy, which increases safety and precision, and can result in less invasive treatment. AR systems are also being used to guide needle and catheter insertion for greater accuracy and patient comfort.
In 2020, Johns Hopkins University performed its first AR surgeries: a spinal fusion, and the removal of a cancerous tumor. In both cases, surgeons wore headsets with a see-through eye display. The headsets projected images of the patient’s internal anatomy based on CT scans onto the surgical site, so that the surgeons didn’t have to look away to refer to the scans.
Imaging and Diagnosis
A study conducted by Cambridge University showed that a test of navigation skills in a virtual reality environment was more accurate in diagnosing early Alzheimer’s disease than the standard cognitive tests already in use.
AR applications such as MERGEcube allow radiologists to display medical images in 3D and interact with them.
Neurology and Mental Health Applications
A 2022 study published in the Lancet showed the efficacy of remote treatment for agoraphobia via a virtual reality environment. Patients in the VR treatment control group showed a greater reduction in distress and agoraphobic avoidance than patients in the traditional treatment control group. In addition to efficacy, VR treatment environments have great promise for delivering treatment to patients in isolated areas.
In addition, a study by Radboud University in the Netherlands showed that the VR game Deep reduced anxiety and disruptive classroom behavior among students with diagnosed behavioral conditions. Deep is a biofeedback game that players control with their breathing. Researchers are currently testing effectiveness for patience in palliative care settings, as well as patients with COPD.
Another study published in the Journal of Internet Medical Research explored the efficacy of the immersive program RelieVRx in empowering patients to manage chronic pain. Patients in the VR control group found greater relief than patients using established distraction techniques.
Art therapy is already an accepted treatment for the effects of stroke. A 2021 study demonstrated that art therapy incorporating immersive elements showed additional therapeutic potential.
Rehabilitation
Immersive technology is showing great promise in rehabilitation, particularly for stroke patients. VR games help patients to relearn motor skills in a fun, novel environment. Immersive technologies are also showing promise for rehabilitation for neurological and cognitive conditions, as well as in physical therapy.
Communications and Remote Treatment
The field of Radiology was one of the first to adopt VR/AR technology for a variety of applications. One of the most promising of these was inviting cancer patients to use a combination of VR and AR to explore treatment and recovery facilities from home. This increased patient confidence, decreased anxiety about treatment, and resulted in more patients reporting a positive experience.
The educational applications of AR speak for themselves, but products like Microsoft’s HoloLens are also empowering surgeons to collaborate remotely during operations, and to access needed information in a sterile, touch-free manner.
What Can We Expect to See in the Near Future?
At this point, the range of possibilities seems limitless, but we have a few predictions. Virtual treatment rooms could become more widespread, providing consultations and treatments for patients in isolated and underserved areas. Increasingly, healthcare professionals may use virtual environments to collaborate, communicate, and prepare for complex procedures. Patients and caretakers may also make greater use of personalized virtual resources for chronic pain management, mental health, and memory care.