Augmented Reality: The Future of Medicine

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are gaining significant momentum as leading innovators in medical education, health care and health care delivery. While virtual reality is based in an artificial virtual world, augmented reality, aka spatial computing, is a technology based on a merging of digital and physical spaces.

Use of augmented reality in the Operating Room for better visualization during abdominal surgery (Image courtesy of Medical Augmented Reality)

Augmented reality is an invaluable asset to health care professionals. It allows its users to stay in touch with reality, while providing fast and efficient transfer of information from multiple sensory modalities – think Pokemon Go. Such distinctive features have established augmented reality as a revolutionary necessity in the future of health care, during an era driven by technological innovation.

With the recent release of new mapping AR tasks, Pokemon Go is a leader in the conversation about VR/AR (Image via @PokemonGoApp on Twitter)

From video games to medical clinical practice, augmented reality has allowed its users to interact with simulated reality environments. One of my first introductions to the use of such technology in medicine was actually at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Center for Innovation and Design. Using an Oculus VR headset and the available equipment, I was able to explore further into the nooks and crannies of our bodies on Human Anatomy VR on the Oculus Quest. If you want to get a feel of how dumb I looked while trying to ~explore~ in the Oculus headset, watch this video!

Human Anatomy VR on the Oculus Quest (Video courtesy of Open PC Reviews on YouTube)

I was surprised to see the precision and amount of detail that could be conveyed using such technological tools, and could only imagine how differing applications of such technological advancements could allow for more immersive medical training and education for aspiring physicians. Currently, new potential applications of mixed reality in training future health care professionals include programs such as Microsoft’s HoloLens and Osso VR’s Surgical Training Platform. “Although there is no hard data, an increasing number of medical schools are using or considering these technologies”, says Warren Wiechmann, MD, Associate Dean of Clinical Science Education and Educational Technology at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Early adopters of these technologies in medical education have noted the varied benefits of AR and VR, including the opportunity for real-life experiences without real-life consequences.

Osso VR is a cost-effective alternative to the expensive and highly limited training opportunities currently offered (Image courtesy of Osso VR)

Mixed reality has already been advancing the medical field through a wide array of practical applications. Current uses of such technology allow for better visualization during invasive surgical procedures, detection of cancer through image recognition and more accurate patient diagnoses/treatments as a result of advances in medical equipment. Last summer, I worked under a reconstructive plastics and microsurgery specialist to help adapt a mixed reality imaging software to diabetic free-flap reconstructive surgeries. The mixed reality imaging allowed for better pre-operative planning, for we were able to gain better visualization of the blood vessels and blood flow to the lower extremities of our patients, while also allowing for the precise assessment and quantification of diabetic ulcer excision margins. Ultimately, through the application of such technology, we were able to further investigate methods that would allow physicians to preserve as much viable tissue while significantly reducing the risk of development of future sores and ulcerations.

Launch of xvision™, the First Augmented Reality Guidance System for Surgery (Image courtesy of Augmedics)

Although use of augmented reality, virtual reality and other mixed reality mediums have allowed for numerous medical advancements, we are only on the cusp of breakout ideas and their practical applications. Notably, as health costs continue to rise, the use of technology, such as augmented reality, will play a significant role to help prevent, manage and cure patients, especially those who are members of medically underserved communities. Outside of mixed reality, the increased use of technology can also be used to help create a means for more personalized and accessible medical care. I look forward to seeing how the utilization of such technology, by competent and compassionate physicians, will allow for increased equitable delivery of high-quality patient-centered care, while further improving patient outlooks using advancements in treatment modalities.

~ Tiffany Lee