VR is completely changing how doctors can train.
This article originally appeared in Forbes.
Because Doctors are scientists and scientists are all about identifying, analyzing and solving problems, they are always among the first to harness new technology to improve the health of their patients. With health representing 20% of the U.S. economy and tech over 10%, scale dictates that tiny improvements in either sector have a huge impacts. Slight improvements in training, a slightly better test or tool, or a faster diagnosis, have the potential to save thousands of lives and billions of dollars. As a result, we’re finding a lot of early innovation in new virtual and augmented reality technology in medicine.
We see seven themes emerging from new VR and AR apps for health:
Training
Education
Visualization
Psychology
Telehealth and telesurgery
Screen consolidation
Physical training, health, and fitness.
This article will focus exclusively on the applications of VR—fully replacing the world with a realistic digital simulation of patient-specific anatomy and pathology.
Augmented Reality, which puts data in the user’s field of view, like a pilot’s “heads-up display” (HUD), has many compelling applications to offer the medical profession. With tips from sources, we found one AR Health startup, Echopixel, in stealth mode that wants to map CT scans on real patients. Doctors are surrounded by screens all day, but they have to look away from the patient to see them. AR headsets solve this problem while opening up whole new areas for innovation and augmentation. A lot of technological change is going to manifest in health care first.
,
,
Given the remarkable progress, clinical applications of VR are already making, it is no surprise to see its use dramatically increasing in medical schools. University of California, San Franciso, medical school is using Organon for the HTC Vive. In early 2017, Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Department of Biomedical Sciences created its own VR app to visualize and manipulate magnified models of the human brain and nervous system in all dimensions. The team is now working to expand the program to include all the structures of the body.
“Cadavers and textbooks have limitations in what they can convey. Virtual reality improves upon learning from a cadaver by going from the skin layer all the way down to the bones and back again. Every single layer can be moved independently allowing students to see the relationship between the muscles and nerves and organs, zooming in to the microscopic level if desired. It’s a learning experience almost like putting a puzzle together,” said Assistant Professor of Anatomy Derek Harmon, Ph.D.
,
,
The veterinary profession is also looking to VR for its educational needs. LlamaZOO Interactive, in partnership with leading international veterinary universities and anatomists, has created JetsonVR, the world’s first virtual reality canine dissection software, built from MRI & CT data. A somewhat cruder version of Canine Anatomy was presented by Texas A&M at SXSW in 2016.
,
,
Case Western Reserve University Engineers collaborated with the medical school to create an incredible Holo anatomy app. The University is now seeking to commercialize its invention. Image courtesy of Case Western.
Virtual Reality applications are saving lives in hospitals around the world today, and gaining more converts among decision makers. At the same time, the next generation of doctors, those entering medical school today, are the first digital natives, born with smartphones in their hands. Like former game designer, orthopedic surgeon, and founder of Osso VR, Justin Barad, these young doctors are bringing their technology with them, expecting it to problems, and will make their own solutions when they don’t.
Source: VR SCOUT