Virtual reality has been a hot topic among some top medical and pharmaceutical companies finding a usage for technology in healthcare industry, starting from clinical applications to those aimed at patients.
By next year, 2023, the global market could be worth of $3.8 billion according to an Arizton report. Let’s discuss some of the fascinating VR use cases and benefits for doctors and patients.
Revolutionizing applications of VR in healthcare
There are a number of ways the technology can be used to aid medical specialists, from surgery to meditation. Here are some of the most fascinating things that are happening in the industry right now.
#1. Virtual reality and surgery
New techniques of visualization facilitate the surgeon’s capabilities and open a wider spectrum of opportunities at the pre-operative stage.
Virtual surgery comes in the form of conducting a medical operation on the three-dimensional virtual model of a patient through the use of VR technologies for the healthcare industry. These virtual exercises allow the surgeon to learn skills and gain knowledge without putting real patients at risk, and receive clear feedback from their actions.
Working with a 3D model helps doctors to learn and master new medical techniques and experiment with the cutting-edge solutions in the surgery field.
#2. Virtual reality and education
Teaching anatomy for medical students is another application of virtual reality. Learning with the help of a 3D human body objects gives easy and precise manipulation opportunities without the fear of making a mistake.
Also, introducing virtual reality to the education process limits any geographical boundaries and provides access to knowledge from any remote location in the world. Students can practise particular tasks in infinite ways, for example, zooming in, highlighting, and labelling. Quizzes and demonstrations can be embedded into the programme creating a self-running learning environment.
#3. Virtual reality and meditation
Neurobiologists keep repeating how good meditation is, but most people still don’t find much time or motivation to sit and meditate. That’s where VR comes into play. There’s nothing easier than just sit, use VR goggles and meditate.
Virtual reality offers a guided meditation with a unique experience to get literally immersed into VR journey, interact with the environment and become relaxed. This is reached by a rich auditory experience, visual and tactile means, and voice.
#4. Virtual reality and psychological therapy
Virtual reality is a therapeutic tool in the treatment of psychological disorders. Compared to the traditional treatments, VR has many advantages. First of all, it forms a protected environment for the patient where he or she can re-experience situations that had an influence.
Successful cases in the psychological therapy have been traced in the field of different psychological disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, sexual disorders, help with those with autism,and much more.
#5. Virtual reality and pain management
Some physicians offer the usage of VR headsets that allow patients in pain the freedom to escape from reality and be transported to another emotional space. To reap the potential benefits of virtual reality while mitigating its risks, it’s important to start with a two-step approach:
- Analyzing patients with specific clinical indications that would benefit from the use of VR
- Assessing patients for potential risk factors
Successful implementation of VR for pain management depends on wisely deciding who and where are the patients in need of VR medical assistance.
As virtual reality continues its rise in prominence in the tech world, more and more stunning applications in the healthcare field will appear. We are at the very beginning of a technological revolution, and as ever, medicine is one of the industries that will reap the most dramatic benefits.
