Doctors and nurses spend years of their lives in education, ensuring they know everything they need to deliver the best healthcare. However, when it comes to the practical element of performing procedures on real life patients, extended realty or augmented reality (AR) is giving students and professionals the opportunity to perfect their skills without ever having to touch an actual person.
How does this work?
AR works by replicating a certain scenario the practitioner might experience. This is done by using A.I to generate a completely digital world.
Why use it?
Although they say practice makes perfect, it in fact helps make improvement. By using AR to conduct these procedures, the real-life pressure of having someone’s life in your hands is removed, which allows the individual to focus on the specific techniques and skills needed to carry out the task correctly.
However, due to the imagery A.I generates, the user can experience what it may feel like to be in that situation, rather than being in the real world performing on a cadaver.
Because of AR, the simulation can be repeated over and over again which draining physical resources, traditional methods use.
Why is there such a low uptake?
Currently the use of these technologies is low, but this could be due to a number of different reasons. From teachers preferred to stick to tried and true methods to the cost.
What about mixed reality training?
Mixed reality training could be seen as the bridge between the two, allowing the user to immerse themselves to a certain degree yet remain firmly in the real world.
This allows a certain amount of grounding when performing the procedures. Mixed reality works by using A.I to blend the physical and digital worlds together, in contrast to AR which submerses the user into the world of A.I generated imagery.
Is the future of healthcare in AR?
It is unlikely that AR will replace traditional healthcare training practices. But we can consider that it will aid the improvement of those in training as well as those who want to increase or practice their current skills without needing physical resources.
Imagery courtesy of unsplash