Is Augmented Reality in Healthcare Really the Future?

How feasible is augmented reality in healthcare? Learn about current use cases for the innovative new technology and promising future uses down the line.

Many are beginning to question whether augmented reality can truly empower patient care or if it’s just another fad. Fortunately, many seem to think the former as is noticed in Business Wire’s market projection in which the AR market is set to reach $10.82 billion by 2025. A promising projection to say the least, but how can healthcare ride this expected wave of innovation?

What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality is a method of superimposing images, text, video, and sound over the real world, often for the purpose of delivering information. Unlike virtual reality where entire environments are rendered for users to interact with, AR simply augments the environment that we already see by displaying visual elements.

Despite how far off it seems, AR is actually something we have access to and use readily today. In 2013, we saw Google Glass enter the scene and, while it didn’t quite take off for consumer use, many factory floors saw promise in its ability to display information in real time and use it regularly.

Still, the question remains, does augmented reality have a home in healthcare?

Uses for Augmented Reality in Healthcare

While use cases for augmented reality in healthcare haven’t reached the mainstream, there are definitely some facilities looking to lead the charge. Bay Area Hospital, North Bend Medical, and a few more locations in Oregon have already begun an initiative to assimilate AR tech into their operations.

Using AR headsets and smart devices such as smartphones and medical tablets, the providers are able to share their computer screens and critical information to first responders on the scene of an emergency. Physicians can even examine a patient remotely through a feed of what the first responder sees through their headsets.

Windows, Android, and Apple devices also have access to apps like AR Anatomy 4D and Complete Anatomy that provide medical students and professionals with 3D models of skeletal and nervous systems, organs, and more. Many of these applications can even project images of organs and bodies affected by specific conditions. Not only does this aid trainees without cadavers, it helps patients interested in interactively learning more about their conditions.

Future Applications for Augmented Reality in Healthcare

Augmented Surgery

Surgeons stand to see some of the more exciting developments an AR program can provide. In the future, AR could allow surgeons to look over projected models of a patient’s anatomy constructed by their MRI and CT scans inputted into an AR headset. Using this model, a surgeon could hypothetically visualize bones, muscles, and organs before even making their first incision.

Augmented Diagnosis

Ophthalmology has already taken strides towards enhancing diagnostics with augmented reality. Apps like EyeDecide allow doctors to display simulations of a person’s vision that’s suffering from a specific condition. Different conditions like cataracts and AMD can be simulated, giving patients a more accurate description of their symptoms for diagnosis as well as a literal glimpse into what their future vision could look like if they’re condition persists, motivating them to follow treatment instructions.

What Tech is Needed Now and in the Future?

Displays, sensors, gyroscopes, there’s a hefty amount of specs necessary to even consider AR applications. Fortunately, a lot of this hardware is already outfitted into the phones and tablets we use daily!

As far as the AR applications that already exist, having a tablet grants you access to all of them. In addition to that, a medical grade model will also provide antimicrobial properties which, if they’re baked into the plastic of the device itself, won’t rub off after several disinfections.

As far as future applications in the operating room, having tablets with a fanless design will ensure the device isn’t circulating harmful bacteria and contaminants through the air.

Augmented Reality: Worth Keeping a Pulse On

Only time will tell if augmented reality in healthcare finds regular use. Regardless, the industry definitely sounds like one to keep a close eye on. For more information on the kind of technology you’ll need to kick-start an AR program in your own facility, contact an expert from Cybernet today.