VR in medicine - technology of the future

Both in the gaming industry and in some parts of private life, virtual reality has long been indispensable. It is therefore not surprising that VR is also increasingly being used in medicine. The areas of application are diverse and are revolutionizing healthcare in the long term. VR in medicine can be used, for example, to train young doctors and students, to prepare experienced doctors for operations holistically and even to treat patients with anxiety disorders, depression and addiction problems adequately. The expansion of the use of VR in medicine also affects the field of medical technology design and helps engineers to immensely improve the usability and user experience of their products. But how can virtual reality be defined? Which areas of application seem sensible for VR in medicine and how exactly is it used? Which improvements does VR offer in medical design? The following blog post is dedicated to these questions, among others.

Basically, Virtual Reality describes an artificial reality created by special software and hardware. The core of innovative VR hardware is VR glasses. This is composed of two high-resolution displays to depict artificially generated images. The displays are linked to a sensor system that records the location and position of the head. The pioneers and revolutionaries in the technology industry now firmly believe that VR will permanently change our everyday life and the way in which we consume media in the coming years. VR will also become increasingly important in medicine and improve local healthcare. As a result, humanity is at the beginning of a technical revolution that will create unique and innovative experiences.

The use of VR in medicine offers the German healthcare system a wealth of opportunities to sustainably improve patient care. VR can be used in medicine in a wide variety of areas and bring about positive changes there.

One of the pioneering areas of VR application in medicine concerns the training of medical students. Medical studies are often characterized by highly theoretical lectures and learning using two-dimensional modeled images in various textbooks. With the use of VR in medical education, it is now possible to use 3D visualizations to more vividly depict human anatomy. This allows physiological principles and internal processes of the human organism to be presented in a visually tangible manner. This allows the students an innovative way of learning. Through the use of VR in medicine, interaction with the learning content is possible. The individual organs, for example, can be viewed from all angles using the new technology. Instead of boring lecture classes, the students are offered a journey through the human body. For this group in particular, practical experience is essential. Through the use of VR in medicine, this practical experience is given without jeopardizing patient safety. This means that a wide variety of surgical steps and techniques can be tried out and repeated as often as you like. The skills of the medical students are thus improved in a targeted and continuous manner.

Not only in education does VR offer new perspectives in medicine. The preparation of operations can also be optimized with this technique. Before an operation, doctors receive a wealth of data and information that needs to be intelligently displayed and selected. By using VR in medicine, the necessary data can be combined with images and displayed realistically. The organs in question are visualized three-dimensionally for the attending physician. This way, he can view them from all angles and rotate them as often as he likes. In order to provide the surgeon with a picture of the body part to be operated on, that is as lifelike as possible, researchers at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Basel have developed a method that converts originally two-dimensional images from computed tomography into three-dimensional virtual spaces in real-time. Among other things, when operating on joints, the use of VR in medicine enables doctors to view the joint to be treated from all perspectives and different sizes as often as they like. With VR in medicine, the doctor can get a very intuitive idea of ​​what options he has during the operation.

The use of VR in medicine not only offers advantages in the surgical segment, but also in the treatment of mentally ill patients. The properties of virtual reality seem to be particularly well suited for the treatment of phobias, anxiety and addiction disorders as well as depression. In the virtual world, the patient can expose himself to his fears without danger. He learns to control his emotions and sometimes drastic reactions to overcome his fear. The advantage of using VR in medicine for therapeutic treatment is that virtual reality can be individually adapted to the needs and progress of the patient. The Kings College Institute of London is investigating the use of VR in medicine, among other things also in the treatment of paranoia. For example, patients go to a virtual bar where they have to interact with avatars. The therapists communicate with the patients via these avatars. In the background of this artificially created scenario, other bar visitors are installed who audibly talk about the patient or even make fun of him. The patient is thus prepared for a real situation, which triggers an immense amount of suffering in him and thus he learns to cope with his social fears.

The first therapeutic successes of VR in medicine can also be observed in the treatment of addictions and depression. In the artificially created reality, addicts train how to deal with situations that have usually stimulated their desire for the drug. An example of this can be imagined as follows: With the help of VR in medicine, an alcoholic is transferred to an artificial pub and is constantly offered drinks that he has to refuse. Smokers learn to wait at bus stops or drink coffee without reaching for a cigarette.

The use of VR in medicine also offers new possibilities in the treatment of depression. A team of researchers from University College London recently succeeded in using virtual reality to reduce self-critical behavior and thus alleviate depression. For this purpose, the team developed a program that projected the image of the patient. The patient should then self-medicate. In particular, this trains the patient's compassion for themselves and often helps them to find relief.

The use of VR in medicine holds huge potential, especially in medical design. By introducing VR technology, designers are experimenting with innovative solutions to visually conceive high quality spaces. Thus, the use of VR in medicine is one of the solutions that improves the approach to the design of operating rooms in a sustainable and future-oriented way.

The advantages of VR in medical technology design lie in the immediate experiences of the users and needs-based reconfigurations at a significantly lower cost than the creation of physical models. The freedom of the virtual models offers several advantages when testing OR designs:

- Greater flexibility in examining different room sizes and equipment configurations
- More input from medical staff and therefore generally better ergonomics and usability
- Pre-visualization at the beginning of the design process enables a better user experience
- The need to build costly full-size physical models can be reduced and possibly eliminated altogether

The use of VR in medicine gives all participants in the design and customer teams the opportunity to collectively find solutions for specific tools and design features. This later guarantees a better user experience and usability on the part of the medical staff. In virtual reality, the participants have the opportunity to make any changes to the model and to view the operating room in its entirety. In addition to furniture and devices, people such as doctors or nurses can be represented by VR in medicine. The participants can move these people anywhere in the room or even switch between the individual characters and thus view the scenery from different perspectives. This allows any design issues to be resolved before a physical model is created. This not only saves costs, but above all time. Once a desired layout is determined, medical device designers and clients can reach consensus on creating the final OR design.

Despite the stated advantages of using VR in medicine, it is sometimes rarely used. One reason for this is that the technology has not yet been fully developed. The heavy helmets and slow sensors made many subjects feel nauseous and dizzy. However, recent developments in the market give reason to hope that VR will soon be used more frequently in medicine. Technology is constantly improving and VR will probably soon play an important role in medicine. If you have any further questions about VR in medicine or medical technology design, please feel free to contact us at any time.