Virtual Reality is surely an expressive technology. The tools built using Virtual Reality has reached quite far and wide past few years. This is actually enormous, and while we are only in the early phases of figuring out just how the use of VR accelerated a tremendous achievement. Although VR indeed is believed to mark its major portion in the gaming sector, there are several instances where VR has made some serious implications in the lives of people and tried to change the overall face of the healthcare segment.
We can say VR in Healthcare industry is empowered with numerous possibilities and even when the area is newly introduced there are already some great examples of VR embarking a positive effect on the lives of both patients and medical practitioners. Let’s find out how.
Virtual Reality in Medical care has been proved efficient to stop the brain from processing pain and cure soreness in the hospitalized patients. This is actually beneficial as it shortens the patient’s stay time in the hospital and also lowers the cost of the entire treatment process. There is various software created to deflect the minds of the ailing patients and focus more on VR worlds that can help them relieve stress.
KarunaVR for instance, make the use of Pain Education, and Movement Science to help patients overcome pain and motor impairment. The software uses immersive VR technology offering motion and visual based experiences that help in fixing brain discordance.
An opportunity to minimize reliance on pharmacological ways for mental health lies in Virtual Reality. Exposure therapy (ET) is a really popular method among good practitioners to regulate therapy for patients suffering from mental issues.
With the launch of mobile VR headsets, including the Gear VR presents an awesome opportunity to use telemedicine for mental health treatment. The use of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) can actually lead to mobile teletherapy can go in conjunction with in-clinic. VR is even capable of isolating anxiety related stimulus with a much-controlled approach. Even through ET goes quite well with VR there are other psychiatric conditions and child disorders, where VR might have a major role to play.
VR can also come as a rescue while treating anxiety disorders and phobias. For instance, CleVR is a platform that effectively uses virtual emotion technology to regulate stimulated social scenarios. They also use experiments to examine the effectiveness of VR as a therapeutic approach to treat social phobias and psychosis. A platform on similar lines in Limbix, that enables patients to interact with people in the authentic, virtual environment.
One of the most promising elements VR brings to the medical industry is 3D modeling. Surgeons use 3D models to plan operations. By visualizing a complicated 3D organ on paper, really doesn’t give the full picture. And that is one main reason 360-degree graphics come to the forefront and also comes a better way for patients and doctors to communicate.
Prior to any operation, surgeons need to obtain the most precise images possible on the part of the body undergoing surgery. With the help of computed tomography technology that generates three-dimensional images in real time to use in a virtual space altogether.
Using VR, smoothly blurs the demarcation between the physical world and the computer simulation as surgeons can use latest versions of virtual reality glasses to interact in a three-dimensional space with the organ that requires surgical treatment, view it from any desired angle and able to switch between 3D view and the real CT images. Learn how virtual reality can transform surgical training process.
Diseases like Autism and Asperger’s syndrome are incurable till date. As of the current situation, autism therapy includes in-person sessions with the doctor. But with the effective use of these sessions can be lessened to a good extent. Mobile VR actually helps investigate social interactions with autistic kids by including virtual characters.
Wearable tech like Oculus Rift can be used with individuals with autism to navigate virtual situations and help them develop life skills that can lead to independent living.
Technologies like Virtual Reality are finding an increasing number of homes in the healthcare industry. There are actually tonnes of projects, along with a varied commercial vendor offering solutions for medical practitioners, hospitals and the patients. These projects range from classical surgical planning to patient education as well.
It is estimated that there are almost 5 million cases of Alzheimer’s diseases in American alone. Memory loss can have an adverse effect on families around the globe. For neuroscientists, it becomes quite difficult to figure out what’s happening inside the brain when memories are formed or recalled. They need to get a much deeper insight into this troubling situation.
With the power of Virtual Reality and conjunction of brain implants, they can capture brain signals and oscillations to get a clear idea as to what happens to the brain when new information is passed on to it.