An overview of the use of virtual and augmented reality in medicine

Medicine is such a vast field it would be impossible to write about every technological advancement in a single page. Hence, I am going to purely focus on the use of virtual and augmented reality; from planning procedures to communicating with patients. Listed below are the topics in which we shall dip our toes, as well as links to where, if you are so inclined, can find out more about the topic.

Below you can find information about how VR/AR technologies are working towards.

Patient understanding

Training

Physical therapy

Caucasian doctor wearing VR headset with left hand thumb up

Improving the understandings of patients

Precision Virtual Reality for Neurosurgery @GWUH - In summary the hospital now uses VR to aid with "neurosurgery" and "thoracic surgery". The technology enables the visualisation of the patient's body without making an incision. The idea originates from "flight simulators designed to train fighter pilots" which was then adapted to allow for the mapping of the human body. After planning, the surgeon can easiy demonstrate to their patient how they plan to remove their tumor (or perform their surgery, for example) by handing over the headset and explaining their plan in a 3D environment. Traditional scans from CT and MRI machines can be processed and simulated within the environment, making it super easy for medical professionals to accurately simulate the required area of the body. 3D models can be exported to presentations using advanced software, enabling surgeons to share simulations between their colleagues.

Training

Virtual reality and the transformation of medical education @FutureHealth - Virtual reality for training purposes is a great way to create a safe environment for learning complex, or even simple, procedures. It is relatively in-expensive to set up and each simulation is reproducable. In other words, a teacher can create a scenario which can repeated by any student any number of times which is guarenteed to follow the same rules/protocols. This allows for specific procedures to be practiced, or entire surgeries to be trialed again and again before letting the student go and cut someone open. Additionally, performance metrics can be gathered for each student and can be compiled in an automated report. This streamlines the education process as educators no longer have to be there in-person to assess mistakes and provide feedback. VR set-ups take up relatively little lab space, allowing multiple students in the same environment to simultaneously attempt a procedure virtually.

For example, VR can be used to train clinicians in complex procedures such as transvenous lead extraction, is effective in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, can improve communication skills, enhance critical thinking and improve clinical decision making.

Jack Pottle, Furture Healthcare Journal

Physical therapy

Virtual Reality Pain Reduction @HITLab - The University of Washington Seattle and U.W. Harborview Burn Center created a virtual experience known as "SnowWorld" and was "the first immersive virtual world designed for reducing pain". It was known previously that people feel the most pain when they have nothing else to occupy their minds. "SnowWorld" was designed to mentally transport burn patients away from their hospital beds and into a snowy landscape. This meant that "for many patients in VR, the wound care becomes more of an annoyance". It is pretty self explanatory why this is such a great thing.