Virtual Reality and its Role in Modern Medicine

The Growing Trend toward the Adoption of VR in Medicine

Virtual Reality in medicine continues to prove itself, providing exciting advances in experiential medical education and training as well as in diagnostic and clinical scenarios. Its importance in surgical training and preparation as well as in psychiatry has already been realized and widely implemented. With new advances in 3D imaging technology and wider accessibility of the delivery systems, it is poised to play a pivotal role in the advancement of treatment, as well as providing opportunities for more immediate implementation of innovation on a global scale.

Forecast to grow to a $2.54 billion industry by 2020, the trend towards the use of Virtual Reality for medicine will be driven by simulated clinical environments, surgical and diagnostic tools for doctors and dentistry, interventional environments and virtual reality in medical training across a range of disciplines and settings. Though the potential of virtual reality in medical applications and training is well recognized, the playing field has only recently opened up, driven by wider accessibility of mobile smartphone-connected hardware such as Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard.

Practical Virtual Reality Uses in Medicine and Healthcare

Virtual Reality has already proven its value in medical training and diagnosis. Some of the most exciting advances are found in psychiatric and psychological treatment, pain management and rehabilitation. Additionally, VR therapy provides viable options for patients who may be unable to physically attend a location where treatments are conducted, due to severe obesity, paralysis or other mobility limiting situations.

Virtual Reality Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Virtual Reality therapy as it applies to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) addresses situations such as social interactions, recognizing unspoken intentions connected to a certain behavior, or sharing opinions in a socially acceptable manner. Working in a virtual environment allows clinicians the ability to control stimuli to match the needs of the individual, such as simplifying or scaling environments for children, removing distractions or raising the level of stimulation as might be needed to maintain individual engagement levels. After treatment with virtual reality, it had been reported that autistic subjects were better able to discern intentions and recognize the need for appropriate responses.

Virtual Reality Treatment for PTSD

It has been reported that more than 28% of soldiers returning from war are at risk to develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This fact alone has created an urgent need for more focused and effective treatment for our war veterans, though victims of violent crime, rape or people affected by major disasters would also find great benefit. PTSD patients who underwent virtual reality therapy were able to relive their experiences in a safe, controlled environment, and reports in many such cases have supported complete recovery.

Virtual Reality for Pain Management

Virtual reality for pain management has shown great promise, both for sufferers of chronic pain and for those undergoing painful procedures such as wound care. The fact that pain has a strong psychological component is one of the mitigating factors in the development of VR treatment for pain, the use of which has been proven to change the brain’s perception of pain, with MRI results providing physiological evidence that corroborate the patient’s report of pain reduction. VR is also used to augment other interventions, such as hypnosis and biofeedback in the treatment of chronic pain.

Virtual Reality in Psychiatric Treatment

Virtual reality is currently used in psychology and psychiatric treatment scenarios via experiential or exposure treatment for certain phobias and disabilities. It has proven its ability to treat panic and anxiety disorders, as well as phobias of all types including fear of heights, fear of public speaking, agoraphobia, claustrophobia, social phobias, fear of driving, fear of thunderstorms and much, much more. By placing the patient into an immersive virtual world, they are exposed to traumatic situations in carefully controlled stages, able to build to higher levels of anxiety until they are satisfied with their responses and comfortable with the experiences.

Virtual Reality in Preventative Medicine

For preventative medicine such as smoking cessation, clinical results of VR treatment show a 50% greater success rate over traditional methods, with participants reporting greater craving controls over the long term. With the aim of promoting healthy lifestyle choices, other VR applications in preventative medicine include moderating alcohol intake, making healthier eating choices and promoting regular exercise.

Virtual Reality for Rehabilitation

In rehabilitation environments, virtual reality has proven effective for victims of stroke and for sufferers of Parkinson’s disease. Through the simultaneous stimulation of motor and cognitive functions, it has provided a safe and motivational environment for learning and re-learning impaired motor function, while stimulating positive outcomes in activities such as walking and independence in the management of daily functions.

Virtual Reality in Emergency Response Training

VR continues to prove its value in emergency and trauma response, effectively reducing the margin of error in surgical situations, while providing practical training that up until very recently was only taught from a theoretical standpoint. For first responders such as for paramedics and emergency room practitioners, participants are able to experience high pressure situations and respond to them with minimal risk.

VR Solutions for Healthcare

As an early adopter of VR technology, the healthcare industry is already well ahead of the curve, and forward-thinking developers are working with researchers, teaching facilities and healthcare providers to engineer real solutions. Virtual reality offers several solutions for the healthcare industry:

• VR simulations: in surgical training, virtual reality can provide experiences far beyond what can be offered in a real-world clinical setting. 3D modeling technology will drive this trend, providing solutions that will impact the science as much as the economy of medical training.
• Distance Training: The ability to train economically and at a distance provides exciting possibilities for emerging cultures and countries that lack teaching facilities.
• Experiential training: Virtual Reality allows medical students and other healthcare workers to experience what life is like for someone with certain types of psychosis or schizophrenia.
• Medical Education: Virtual classrooms invite the ability to train directly with the top minds in the field without actually being in situ, while providing opportunities to train doctors for rare specializations that are in high demand.
• VR as a Diagnostic Tool: Used as a diagnostic tool, VR technology can combine with other non-invasive diagnostic procedures such as MRI, and in many cases virtually eliminate the need for exploratory surgery.

Some of economic advantages that VR training can provide to the medical field include:

• Economic Advantages to Doctor and Patient:
• a decrease in risk, liability and malpractice issues
• a more stable business model for both practitioner and patient
• lower the cost of treatment over the long term
• Economic Advantages in an educational setting:
• the adoption of VR simulations will provide a reduction of the reliance on cadavers and manikin-based training, allowing medical educators to re-channel funds into sustainable technology while freeing up square footage in the lab
• distance training with experts in specialized medical niches will provide experiences previously considered impossible due to proximity or availability issues
• while certain rare conditions were previously only teachable from a theoretical standpoint, medical students and practitioners can gain practical experience using VR simulations

Virtual Reality Medical Applications

Until recently, the accessibility of the hardware and the quality of the experience has limited widespread use of VR. Using VR in a hospital situation without a dedicated technician was the biggest challenge, but with the technological shift from desktop to mobile, and with VR hardware like Oculus and Google Cardboard now designed for use with mobile phones, the playing field is changing at breakneck speed.

Recently, doctors in Florida used a Google Cardboard headset to plan a complex medical procedure that saved the life of a baby. Using precise 3D modeling, they were able to map out a lifesaving surgery that would not have been possible otherwise, or at least not without devastating trauma to the baby. Having the advantage of being able to spend hours examining the 3D image of the baby’s malformed heart and lungs, the doctors were able to complete the surgery successfully and with no complications.

Some specific medical VR applications include:

Hallux Angles

Early medical VR apps include Hallux Angles, an augmented reality iPhone app designed for use by orthopedic surgeons and specifically developed for foot surgery. One of the first apps that highlighted the potential for VR and AR to integrate with commonly used diagnostic devices, it makes use of the phone’s camera, measuring radiographs and calculating angles which are then used to plan the surgical procedure.

Bard VR

Bard VR offers a medical application with a marketing intent, providing visual animations that essentially sell a medical procedure and its instrumentation. Taking users into a virtual operating room, shrink down to a microscopic level and experience how the product works, in this case a drug-coated balloon catheter which is inserted into the arterial wall.

DEEP VR

DEEP is a meditation training game for Oculus that is controlled by the user’s breathing, and uses Yogic breathing techniques to control stress, anxiety and mild depression. Taking users into a relaxing undersea environment, the controller measures diaphragm contraction in order to sense deep breathing, delivering appropriate visual cues that encourage the user to relax and sink deeper into a meditative state.

HumanSim

HumanSim allows doctors and nurses to interact with patients in a VR environment, measuring emotional response via a series of sensors. By providing a training environment that removes risk to a patient, it improves decision making and troubleshooting scenarios in emergency room, operating room and clinical situations while improving performance through repetition of key tasks. Addresses critical proficiencies and cognitive decision making for physicians and other medical personnel.

Virtual ED

With Virtual ED (Virtual Emergency Department), medical students at Stanford University are able to train with interdisciplinary trauma teams through 3D simulation technology, which has effectively lessened the number of errors made in emergency departments, delivery room and operating room scenarios. Though this technology platform was developed and implemented by and for Stanford students, there is no doubt that more will be joining the fray as the technology becomes more portable and accessible.

SnowWorld

Developed specifically for burn victims, SnowWorld is an immersive VR game that introduces emotionally affective, emotion-based cognitive and attention diverting stimuli to control the body’s pain modulation systems. Use of this therapy on burn victims during wound care resulted in a marked decrease in pain and anxiety, allowing patients to undergo excruciatingly painful procedures in situations where opioid treatment alone was ineffective.

Bravemind

Designed specifically for soldiers with PTSD, Bravemind is a an interactive, multisensory and immersive exposure-therapy game that offers the means for veterans suffering from PTSD to overcome their natural avoidance tendencies. Patients can engage in a multitude of scenarios that are customized for sounds, ambient noise and event scent-based stimuli.

The Takeaway - AppReal-VR

This article is by no means a complete list of every latest VR application in the medical community today. Think of it instead as an installment in the ongoing process of what future technology will be offering to healthcare as a whole. VR technology and practices are changing on a daily basis and it’s an exciting time to be a part of this reality. Please contact us at https://appreal-vr.com/.