Role of Virtual Reality in Healthcare
Virtual Reality (VR) has started making inroads in almost every sphere of life, including medicine and healthcare. Medical researchers have been designing and developing VR devices that can help them diagnose and treat medical disorders and fast-track the process of a patient’s recovery. Additional research has been conducted on developing devices that can help them alleviate the physical and mental trauma that a patient undergoes during various clinical, post-clinical and non-clinical procedures. A significant contribution of VR has been towards technology that helps in training healthcare professionals in handling critical emergencies using near real-life settings.
Some of the major application of VR/AR in healthcare settings are discussed below.
Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD)
Patients suffering from PSTD are treated in safe and controlled clinical environment where they are gradually exposed to conditions similar to their traumatic experience. They are taught various techniques of dealing with the trauma, thus helping them recover. A similar Exposure Therapy is employed for treating phobias where controlled exposure is given to the patient to help them get rid of their fears.
Training for Surgical Procedures
Budding doctors are trained in surgical operations by senior surgeons sitting in their rooms, either across the hall or halfway around the world. This is especially useful in complex surgeries such as those involving spine and brain.
Ensuring Better Patient Experience
Healthcare providers have started focussing on overall patient experience since it gives them an edge over competition and directly impacts their bottom-line. Patients and their family members are explained the nitty-gritties of the surgery that they are about to undergo, with the help of VR equipment. Informed patients are more supportive in pre and post-surgery periods and generally provide favourable feedback.
Opportunities for Differently-abled, Bed-ridden and Homebound
With the help of VR headsets, differently-abled persons are made to experience situations that enhances their self-confidence and aims to make them more independent. For e.g. youngsters with cerebral palsy are taught how to manoeuvre a wheel chair with the aid of VR. Similarly, home bound and bed-ridden patients can use VR to visit places across the world that they might not be able go to in reality. Visit to the virtual world helps them disconnect from the real world, alleviating them of the constant physical and mental trauma.
VR in Healthcare Training
The use of VR in training medical professionals has proven to deliver great results. Programmes such as the High-Fidelity Simulation Training by Berkeley HealthEDU, apply derivatives of this technology to prepare doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals to effectively handle critical emergencies, enabling high-quality patient care and better customer satisfaction.