How VR, AR and holograms are already changing healthcare

We discussed this in a LinkedIn Live session, "How will VR, AR, Metaverse & Web3 Transform Healthcare?", with Dr Amit Raj, Senior Cardiologist and Managing Director at Plexus Med Care. The session covered both the long-term benefits and the uses that hospitals have already put in place.

The problems immersive technology addresses

Doctors need to understand complex 3D problems inside the body and explain them to patients who cannot see them. Specialists cannot always travel to where they are needed. And trainees need realistic practice, often in high-pressure emergencies, without putting patients at risk. Textbooks and 2D diagrams only go so far, particularly in subjects such as anatomy.

Four ways it is being used

Holographic patient consultation

Doctors can review a patient's condition in 3D, which supports an accurate diagnosis and saves time and money. It helps surgeons plan their way through a surgery, and patients understand their problem more easily because they can see it.

Remote collaboration

When travelling to diagnose is difficult, AR, VR and mixed reality let a doctor be present remotely and guide trainees. With "see what I see" technology, learning becomes easier and trainees feel less cognitive pressure, which improves their performance.

Nurse training in a virtual environment

Nurse trainees follow the same procedures and structure they would in a real ward, but they can do it remotely. They interact with avatars and equipment, check exposure levels and click on a doctor's avatar for guidance. At the end, each trainee sees a report on how well they performed.

3D training simulations

Holograms can explain complex concepts, diagrams and organ functions far more clearly than a flat page. Anatomy is the obvious example, because the human body is hard to understand in two dimensions, but the same approach works for chemistry and physics.

The benefits

• Better insight: doctors and practitioners are connected with the data that matters most.
• Better training: students can perfect their skills in VR without outside pressure.
• Better care: mixed reality supports diagnosis and encourages fewer incisions.

Hospitals already using it

• Apollo Hospitals, one of India's largest healthcare providers, launched Ask Apollo AR, a mobile app that offers virtual consultations with doctors and an AR anatomy module for medical students.
• Narayana Health, a multi-speciality hospital chain in India, partnered with Microsoft to use HoloLens for medical training. Students can view and interact with 3D models of human anatomy.
• Fortis Healthcare uses VR for patient education, with modules that explain medical conditions and treatments, and for physical therapy and rehabilitation.
• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles uses a VR programme to train nursing staff in patient care scenarios.
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles uses immersive emergency simulations for paediatric treatment. The learner acts as team lead and directs avatar team members, which builds communication and leadership skills under stress.
• Sentinel University of Nursing & Health Sciences in the US created the immersive environments Sentinel City and Sentinel Town, where clinical emergency simulations help nurses practise critical thinking and leadership.

How to apply it

Hospitals and medical device and pharma companies can start where the gap between training and reality is widest: emergency procedures, anatomy teaching or explaining a treatment to patients. A focused VR module or 3D hologram for one of these is a practical first project, and its results make the case for the next.

Next step

If you are planning VR training, 3D medical content or patient education for a hospital or healthcare business, talk to our team. You can also try our VR solutions at the Experience Centre in Noida.

First published on the Metaverse911 blog.