Written By: Kelly Buckman
What do you think of when you hear the term ‘Virtual Reality’? Do you think of the next big thing in the world of gaming? Or maybe a way of relaxing and tuning out the hectic world of the 21st century? Beyond recreational use, perhaps you’re aware that VR is used by NASA scientists to simulate a walk on Mars to prepare astronauts for a possible landing, and by educators to educate parents and teachers about distracted driving and enhance cognitive learning. In fact, the market for Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is projected to reach $160 billion by 2020. *
There is one use in particular for VR that has shown a lot of promise in recent years, namely, enhancing patient healthcare. In fact, the healthcare industry is finding virtual reality to be an effective tool for not only diagnostics, but also for treating patients, medical training, and patient education.
Diagnostics and Prevention
VR simulations use diagnostic images from CAT scans or ultrasounds to create 3D models of a patient’s anatomy. These models help surgeons to efficiently locate tumors, place surgical incisions, or practice complex procedures in advance. **
Whereas in the past, healthcare providers have depended on intermittent data received from patients after they become ill, requiring treatment in a hospital, VR and augmented reality headsets can provide patients and providers continuous measurements such as electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, blood pressure, and oximeter readings. Patient’s ability to monitor their own health can prevent or at least reduce the cost of treatment associated with heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and stroke.
Treatment
Although we have yet to fully realize the true potential of virtual reality in revolutionizing healthcare, VR has already proven its value in saving lives and reducing costs for healthcare providers. A recent study of patients suffering from chronic pain showed a 24% reduction in pain through VR visualizations. With less pain, their length of hospital stay was reduced, significantly reducing hospital cost. Virtual Reality as a means of non-narcotic pain management could be applied in the hospital and at home, thus potentially helping to ease the opioid epidemic. Surgeons at several teaching hospitals are even experimenting with using VR headsets in the operating room to obtain more visual information in a comfortable way. ***
VR for use in homecare is not limited to pain management. There are VR programs for dealing with anxiety disorders, PTSD, and even physical therapy. Virtual and augmented reality are used to help patients who have suffered strokes or are battling Parkinson’s Disease to improve balance and muscle control.
VR is even useful for enhancing healthcare providers’ empathy in dealing with patients. Using We Are Alfred, a VR-powered product created by Embodied Labs, young medical students can experience what it’s like to live as a 74 year old man with visual and hearing impairments. Imagine how far this technology can go in enhancing patient care by bridging the gap between caregivers and elderly patients?
Medical Training
It is reported that in 2017, 6 out of 10 surgeons in the US were using virtual reality to build knowledge of surgical techniques that use endoscopic tools. The benefits are a decrease in time needed to perform procedures, reduction in errors, and improved patient outcomes. In fact, simulating operations provide physicians the opportunity to practice a procedure without possibility of harm to the patient’s health and with less burden to an already taxed healthcare system. **** Telementoring allows a physician who is new or has questions to reach out to an expert who can see what’s happening and walk them through next steps.
With equipment that allows healthcare providers to not only see a broken bone, but actually feel it, ImmersiveTouch is an example of a company on the cutting edge of VR technology. Their tool, ImmersiveView, allows patients to be walked through a proposed medical procedure ahead of time, improving understanding and reducing anxiety. ImmersiveSurgery provides simulation specific to the patient’s treatment, with haptics that enhance surgical planning and navigation. The result is that surgeons enter the OR with improved understanding of potential risks and time needed to perform the procedure. Long term benefits include reduced cost and expanded patient volume. Immersiveism improves device training, adoption, and utilization. *****
Patient Education
Another area that is quite conducive to Virtual Reality is educating patients in the complex nature of their bodies and how they’re affected by illness and injury. Applications like The Body VR allows a patient to “walk through” their own anatomy, giving them a better understanding of their provider’s plan for treating his/her condition.
Certainly, there is no shortage of organizations dedicated to the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (a variation of VR, AR is a view of the real world augmented with computer generated visuals) to improve patient care. The company MindMaze uses VR to help amputees, as well as Parkinsons patients and stroke victims to train their brain to stimulate limb movements. ****** Another company, Brain Power, can use Augmented Reality to help parents of children with Autism visualize making eye contact with them. Among the companies using VR for medical image visualization are Echopixel, Surgical Theater, and Bioflight VR.
Ultimately, the future of Virtual Reality in healthcare depends on providers, whose open-mindedness and dedication to enhancing patient care, will no doubt lead them to continue to explore this new and exciting frontier.
--
Kelly Buckman is a healthcare IT expert and field expert blogger for Barracuda Consulting.
Kelly has almost a decade of experience as a Technical Support Engineer/ Analyst in the field of Healthcare IT, over 20 years in IT Support, and several years of experience in Project Management. She has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke, Masters degree from UMass Amherst, and lists her skills as the ability to analyze and resolve various types of application, server and network issues, and to communicate complex ideas effectively.
She is also the mother of 3 sons, ages 19, 17, and 11, lives in western Massachusetts, and enjoys solving puzzles, reading, and travelling.
Please leave your comments below. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, click here: https://tinyletter.com/barracuda-consulting. To purchase a full report on this subject, or to access our complete suite of healthcare, and IT advisory services please contact us: https://www.barracuda-consulting.net/contact.
What do you think of when you hear the term ‘Virtual Reality’? Do you think of the next big thing in the world of gaming? Or maybe a way of relaxing and tuning out the hectic world of the 21st century? Beyond recreational use, perhaps you’re aware that VR is used by NASA scientists to simulate a walk on Mars to prepare astronauts for a possible landing, and by educators to educate parents and teachers about distracted driving and enhance cognitive learning. In fact, the market for Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is projected to reach $160 billion by 2020. *
There is one use in particular for VR that has shown a lot of promise in recent years, namely, enhancing patient healthcare. In fact, the healthcare industry is finding virtual reality to be an effective tool for not only diagnostics, but also for treating patients, medical training, and patient education.
Diagnostics and Prevention
VR simulations use diagnostic images from CAT scans or ultrasounds to create 3D models of a patient’s anatomy. These models help surgeons to efficiently locate tumors, place surgical incisions, or practice complex procedures in advance. **
Whereas in the past, healthcare providers have depended on intermittent data received from patients after they become ill, requiring treatment in a hospital, VR and augmented reality headsets can provide patients and providers continuous measurements such as electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, blood pressure, and oximeter readings. Patient’s ability to monitor their own health can prevent or at least reduce the cost of treatment associated with heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and stroke.
Treatment
Although we have yet to fully realize the true potential of virtual reality in revolutionizing healthcare, VR has already proven its value in saving lives and reducing costs for healthcare providers. A recent study of patients suffering from chronic pain showed a 24% reduction in pain through VR visualizations. With less pain, their length of hospital stay was reduced, significantly reducing hospital cost. Virtual Reality as a means of non-narcotic pain management could be applied in the hospital and at home, thus potentially helping to ease the opioid epidemic. Surgeons at several teaching hospitals are even experimenting with using VR headsets in the operating room to obtain more visual information in a comfortable way. ***
VR for use in homecare is not limited to pain management. There are VR programs for dealing with anxiety disorders, PTSD, and even physical therapy. Virtual and augmented reality are used to help patients who have suffered strokes or are battling Parkinson’s Disease to improve balance and muscle control.
VR is even useful for enhancing healthcare providers’ empathy in dealing with patients. Using We Are Alfred, a VR-powered product created by Embodied Labs, young medical students can experience what it’s like to live as a 74 year old man with visual and hearing impairments. Imagine how far this technology can go in enhancing patient care by bridging the gap between caregivers and elderly patients?
Medical Training
It is reported that in 2017, 6 out of 10 surgeons in the US were using virtual reality to build knowledge of surgical techniques that use endoscopic tools. The benefits are a decrease in time needed to perform procedures, reduction in errors, and improved patient outcomes. In fact, simulating operations provide physicians the opportunity to practice a procedure without possibility of harm to the patient’s health and with less burden to an already taxed healthcare system. **** Telementoring allows a physician who is new or has questions to reach out to an expert who can see what’s happening and walk them through next steps.
With equipment that allows healthcare providers to not only see a broken bone, but actually feel it, ImmersiveTouch is an example of a company on the cutting edge of VR technology. Their tool, ImmersiveView, allows patients to be walked through a proposed medical procedure ahead of time, improving understanding and reducing anxiety. ImmersiveSurgery provides simulation specific to the patient’s treatment, with haptics that enhance surgical planning and navigation. The result is that surgeons enter the OR with improved understanding of potential risks and time needed to perform the procedure. Long term benefits include reduced cost and expanded patient volume. Immersiveism improves device training, adoption, and utilization. *****
Patient Education
Another area that is quite conducive to Virtual Reality is educating patients in the complex nature of their bodies and how they’re affected by illness and injury. Applications like The Body VR allows a patient to “walk through” their own anatomy, giving them a better understanding of their provider’s plan for treating his/her condition.
Certainly, there is no shortage of organizations dedicated to the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (a variation of VR, AR is a view of the real world augmented with computer generated visuals) to improve patient care. The company MindMaze uses VR to help amputees, as well as Parkinsons patients and stroke victims to train their brain to stimulate limb movements. ****** Another company, Brain Power, can use Augmented Reality to help parents of children with Autism visualize making eye contact with them. Among the companies using VR for medical image visualization are Echopixel, Surgical Theater, and Bioflight VR.
Ultimately, the future of Virtual Reality in healthcare depends on providers, whose open-mindedness and dedication to enhancing patient care, will no doubt lead them to continue to explore this new and exciting frontier.
--
Kelly Buckman is a healthcare IT expert and field expert blogger for Barracuda Consulting.
Kelly has almost a decade of experience as a Technical Support Engineer/ Analyst in the field of Healthcare IT, over 20 years in IT Support, and several years of experience in Project Management. She has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke, Masters degree from UMass Amherst, and lists her skills as the ability to analyze and resolve various types of application, server and network issues, and to communicate complex ideas effectively.
She is also the mother of 3 sons, ages 19, 17, and 11, lives in western Massachusetts, and enjoys solving puzzles, reading, and travelling.
Please leave your comments below. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, click here: https://tinyletter.com/barracuda-consulting. To purchase a full report on this subject, or to access our complete suite of healthcare, and IT advisory services please contact us: https://www.barracuda-consulting.net/contact.
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