5 Ways Virtual Reality Can Transform Healthcare

By Winifred Agbu 

 
 

Virtual reality, also known as VR, is an emerging technology that can transform a host of industries. This technology is often associated with gaming but can also be applied in the health sector. healthcare practitioners are searching for diverse ways to use Virtual reality to assist their patients and achieve better results. VR can be applied in different areas of medicine like mental health, surgery, physical rehabilitation, cognitive rehabilitation, and many more.  

Virtual reality (VR) can be defined as the use of technology to create a 3D   environment. Virtual reality is an emerging technology that alters the way individuals interact with    computers.  

“Virtual reality is a fully three-dimensional computer-generated ‘world’ in which a person can move about and interact as if he were in an imaginary place. This is accomplished by totally immersing the person's senses...using a head-mounted display (HMD)” or some other immersive display device, and an interaction device such as a DataGloveTM or a joystick (Riva, 1997) 

 
 

Here are 5 ways virtual reality can be used in Medicine : 

 
 

1. To diagnose Neurological and Psychiatric disorders 

Nowadays hospitals are applying virtual reality simulations to assist their patients understand what illness the patients are experiencing. Virtual reality can be used to understand neurological diseases such as stroke, spinal cord injuries, dementia and psychiatric disorders like ADHD, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, Alzheimer's. for doctors, diagnosing neurological and Psychiatric conditions can be very tricky, in the past and recent times physicians have reported that diagnoses always involve complications. studies have shown that most cases of mental health conditions often go undiagnosed because of the complications that come with detecting these diseases According to world health organization to treat depression, autism, or Alzheimer's it must first be detected. 

Now clinicians and researchers are trying a new tool: virtual reality. VR has been touted as a promising means of treating some conditions, but it also may help diagnose them. As a diagnostic tool, VR potentially offers some big advantages: It can create convincingly realistic simulations of experiences that may provoke symptoms, and it can do so consistently, potentially making diagnoses more objective—or at least less subjective. (Chandler, 2019) 

 

2.To perform surgical procedures 

Virtual environments are useful for local as well as remote surgery. An example of the local use of virtual environments is in endoscopic surgery. Surgeons manipulate instruments by viewing a television monitor and manipulating a tool inserted through a tube into the patient. Therapeutic uses of virtual environments include creating interactive systems that help reduce anxiety or stress. For example, dentists are using 3-D eyeglasses to divert patients' attention while in the chair. (Riva, 1997)

3. Training Medical professionals

Studies have shown that virtual reality can also be used for training's in hospitals and health care organizations. VR features have gained attention in the healthcare field, and this technology has been actively used in education and training for students and staff in medical professions. In medical education, used for surgical and physical examination skills training, acquisition of anatomical knowledge, and building empathy for patients with neuro-degenerative diseases (Son et al, 2022)  

VR is now being used to provide a broad range of training to medical care professionals in anatomy instructions and surgery simulations that can simulate and control different situations that are difficult to duplicate in real life. Reduced physicians errors, cost of training resources, physician’s time and increased medical specialist’s proficiency and thus decreased number of malpractice are benefits of implementing of VR simulation (Aziz, 2018) 

 
 

4. Reducing pain and relaxing patients  

 

Using VR has resulted in more accelerated patient outcomes, such as improvements in range of motion, pain reduction and greater adherence to treatment plans, Housley says. In virtual environments, patients can see their personalized statistics in real time and track their progress, and as a result they frequently have much greater buy-in (Brodsky, 2022) 

While receiving chemotherapy, patients are exposed to various objects, medications, and environments that can elicit negative emotions and symptoms, such as anxiety, nausea, vomiting, pain, and fatigue. Techniques to help patients cope with these stressors can improve their experience during chemotherapy sessions and increase the likelihood of adherence to their treatment regimens (Schneider & Hood, 2007) 

 
 5. Used in physical therapy/rehabilitation 

 

There are many cases in which virtual reality headsets and devices can be used in physical therapy and rehabilitation. Patients are very relaxed and comfortable while engaging in VR rehabilitation programmes. These VR headsets motivate patients to fully participate in the rehabilitation process, it also allows them to enjoy the process without much pain or discomfort. 

People with neurological conditions may have impairments in the arms that make reaching difficult, and lower extremity impairments may make balance and walking challenging. Using VR may be an effective and engaging way to improve upper or lower extremity coordination and balance during physical therapy. (Brett Sears, 2020) 

To conclude,  Virtual reality headsets have become very popular some of the world's renowned technology brands are investing heavily in VR, Health care practitioners are not left out as well, as they need no convincing about the various benefits of virtual reality in healthcare .even though VR systems are growing fast both in capabilities and in acceptance, it has to be kept in mind that VR systems are conceived nowadays as complementary teaching tools, not as complete substitutes of traditional teaching methods. It is hard to say whether VR systems will be the only option in the near future or not, but the present situation allows to ensure that their importance in the Healthcare Sector will grow steadily during the following decades. (Bayona et al., 2011) 

 
By Winifred Agbu  

Keywords: Virtual reality, VR, Healthcare, Patients, Psychiatric, Neurological, Virtual reality headsets, Therapy, Technology, Disorders, Training. 

  

REFERENCES 

Aziz, H.A. (2018) “Virtual reality programs applications in Healthcare,” Journal of Health & Medical Informatics, 09(01). Available at: https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7420.1000305.  

Bayahya, A.Y., Alhalabi, W. and AlAmri, S.H. (2021) “Smart health system to detect dementia disorders using virtual reality,” Healthcare, 9(7), p. 810. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070810.  

“Bayona, S. et al. (2011) “Implementing virtual reality in the healthcare sector,” Virtual Technologies for Business and Industrial Applications, pp. 138–163. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-631-5.ch009.  

Health system to  dementia disorders using virtual reality,” Healthcare, 9(7), p. 810. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9070810.  

Brodsky, S. (2022) How virtual reality is expanding health care, Time. Time. Available at: https://time.com/6155085/virtual-reality-improve-health-care/ (Accessed: March 25, 2023).  

How VR and AR are used in surgery: 12 examples (2023) Built In. Available at: https://builtin.com/healthcare-technology/augmented-virtual-reality-surgery (Accessed: March 25, 2023).  

Riva, G. (1997) “Virtual reality environments for psycho-neuro-physiological assessment and rehabilitation,” PsycEXTRA Dataset [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/e705192011-009.