A flock of students stumbling after a consultant on a ward round has long been a familiar sight in hospitals. Perhaps not for much longer though – a university has pioneered the use of augmented reality to allow students to take part from home.
Imperial College has conducted what it said is the world’s first virtual ward round for medical students, which means an entire class of 350 students can watch a consultant examining patients rather than the three or four who have been able to accompany them in person.
Through video games, live-action role-playing games and interactive documentaries, developers are challenging the conversation around reproductive rights
The year is 1972. You’re part of an underground network of feminists in Chicago that provide illegal (at the time) abortion services to vulnerable, pregnant people with few options. Despite the risk of imprisonment, and the ways that your personal experiences may not always perfectly align with your activism, you persist.
It’s emotionally complicated. It’s politically fraught. It’s a live-action roleplaying game by Jon Cole and Kelley Vanda called The Abortionists, which requires three players, one facilitator, six hours and a willingness to dig deep into the painful history of reproductive rights in the United States. That history has terrifying relevance in 2019, as numerous states pass laws that put their residents in a reality where abortion is functionally illegal. Based on the real-life work of a 1970s activist group called Jane, it challenges its participants to think about the “internal landscapes” of its players, and how they deal with the larger political and personal landscape of their world.
Cyberdelic VR is being used to treat trauma and even simulate near-death experiences
Human beings have become nothing more than data in flesh suits. That’s the gist of Team Human, the 2018 TED Talk from media theorist Douglas Rushkoff. Certainly, there could be few people who use social media now who don’t feel a sense of captivity.
That makes cybernauts the freedom fighters. The VR artists, academics and scientists gathered in this Brunswick warehouse have contributed to Melbourne’s first “cyberdelic incubator”, hosted by the Australian Psychedelic Society.
Cyberdelic VR is being used to treat trauma and even simulate near-death experiences
Human beings have become nothing more than data in flesh suits. That’s the gist of Team Human, the 2018 TED Talk from media theorist Douglas Rushkoff. Certainly, there could be few people who use social media now who don’t feel a sense of captivity.
That makes cybernauts the freedom fighters. The VR artists, academics and scientists gathered in this Brunswick warehouse have contributed to Melbourne’s first “cyberdelic incubator”, hosted by the Australian Psychedelic Society.
Navigation skills tested through headsets may identify patients far earlier
Scientists have found an unexpected use for virtual reality headsets: to help pinpoint people who may later develop Alzheimer’s disease.
The devices, widely used by computer gamers, display images that can be used to test the navigational skills of people thought to be at risk of dementia. Those who do worse in the tests will be the ones most likely to succumb to Alzheimer’s later in life, scientists now believe.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scansprovide minimal risk to children, according to all the research which has been done into the procedure so far, but the benefits for a person’s health are huge. MRI scans are an essential part of diagnosing and treating a range of conditions. However, young children are often terrified and traumatised by the procedure and refuse to go into the MRI machine. In order to lower this fear, anew virtual reality (VR) apphas been created in the UK. Its aim is to help NHS workers to manage the fears of young children who require medical treatment.
Essentially existing as dark, narrow tunnels, MRI scanners can trigger claustrophobia in young children. There is no pain involved, but the whole process can be unnerving. Students have previously usedVR to treat anxiety and depression, so it is thought that the technology could help with medical procedures as well.
Many children reveal feelings of anxiety when visiting a hospital, GP surgery or dentist. However, the new VR app by Jonathan Ashmore is focused purely on MRI. He notes that “if the child is scared beforehand, then by the time they get to the scanner it’s too late to prepare them for the ordeal and make them feel comfortable”.
Ashmore has created thenew MRI VR appalong with NHS healthcare experts and a play specialist. He reports in the Guardian that: “The app utilises 360-degree videos from within an MRI scanner. It’s free and allows children to experience their upcoming scan in virtual reality, helping them to understand and prepare for what is often a difficult and scary experience”. Inthe way that printer technologywas revolutionised by 3D printing, VR is set to introduce excitement to medical procedures, which will appeal to both kids and their concerned parents. Early test results seem to show that children absolutely love the technology.
It also has a calming effect on parents. Consider an 18 year old leaving home for college. When the teen feels relaxed and confident, it is often easier for the parents to cope with the change. When a child is nervous, their parents feel nervous too. By putting medical procedures in the form of a VR game, children see it as something fun, even exciting, which also helps their caregivers to relax.
MRI scans are just the start for the life changing benefits of VR technology. It could help with any number of phobias and mental conditions, by usingthe gradual exposure technique. People of any age could face their fears by doing so in a virtual world first. This helps a person to associate their phobia with something fun and harmless, so that they are less scared when they need to face it in reality. For both adults and children, this could have a profound effect.
The uses of VR are almost endless. They allow work meetings without getting out of bed, property viewings from the other side of the world and now a way for children to overcome their fear of MRI scans. This medical app could be a revolutionary new way of treating phobias. This is set to reduce fear for kids who need surgery, but could one day help any person living with anxiety or depression.
You can find a video explaining how it works below.
Though Vuzix has primarily become a name associated with providing augmented reality (AR) smart glasses technology to businesses and industry, the company is also working for various applications in medicine and healthcare, such as seeCOLe or ‘see Clinical data on Lens’, which has just won an award at the Cerner Corporation Code App Challenge.
The Cerner Corporation Code App Challenge was held during the 2018 Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City. Cerner Corporation is devoted towards health technology and innovation that assists medical personnel in making care decisions and managing health of populations.
Cerner brings thousands of medical professionals together each year for its annual Cerner Health Conference, which this year hosted the Code app Challenge, which gave third-party developers the opportunity to create, develop and pitch innovative solutions that can help improve health outcomes.
The app produces, titled seeCOLe is an AR health app that allows clinicians to navigate and document information into an electronic record system using smart glasses. While using the app, the clinicians can use verbal commands to interact with the electronic record, which can show data from a patient’s chart and display it on the Vuzix Blade smart glasses. Once the data is accessed, the seeCOLe application can be navigated using voice or touch features.
The app means that a clinician can access a patient record wirelessly and keep the hands free, thus also improving patient-doctor interaction, which can have a positive result on patient outcomes.
“The overall form factor, wearability and performance of the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses has drawn rave reviews from B2C customers, who see a tremendous opportunity to disrupt the existing market and build hands-free solutions around the Vuzix Blade platform,” said Paul Travers, Vuzix President and Chief Executive Officer. “Innovative health applications like seeCOLe, delivered through a see-through display on the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses, can not only help clinicians provide improved care, but also increase their interaction with patients.”
For future coverage on Vuzix and other AR hardware and applications, keep checking back with VRFocus.
There have already been a number of applications for immersive technology in the medical and healthcare sector, from teaching new doctors to helping people overcome addictions and phobias. Now The OpenSight augmented reality (AR) system has become the first medical AR solution for the Microsoft HoloLens to be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US.
The OpenSight AR system from Novarad has been given 510(k) clearance fr use in pre-operatove surgical planning. The system renders 2D and 3D images of patients interactively, while accurately overlaying them on to the patients body.
“This is transformative technology that will unite preoperative imaging with augmented reality to improve the precision, speed and safety of medical procedures,” stated Dr. Wendell Gibby, Novarad CEO and co-creator of OpenSight. “This internal visualization can now be achieved without the surgeon ever making an incision, improving outcomes in a world of more precise medicine.”
While VR systems have been used in pre-operative planning before, the OpenSight system lets surgeons see the 3D patient images and the patient themselves at the same time, avoiding the possible disconnect that can happen when using VR systems.
The OpenSight system lets medical personnel get a better understand of the relevant anatomical relationships, or highlight certain specific areas to avoid or concentrate ob. Multiplate headsets can be used so those present can see the same thing, allowing for the training of less experienced personnel.
Novarad have also developed a teaching version of the software that lets medical students perform virtual dissections on medical cadavers.
The company has been working in medical imaging for many years, providing a customisable workflow and imaging solutions, which it hopes to continue into the new frontier of immersive technology. Further information can be found on the Novarad website.
For future coverage of VR and AR in healthcare, keep checking back with VRFocus.
It is very difficult to find anyone whose life has not been affected by cancer in some way, and even with advances in technology and treatment, it continues to affect millions of people. As a result, funding is still needed in order to research new ways to fight the disease in its many forms. Stand Up To Cancer has launched three virtual reality (VR) films staring well-known UK celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Olivia Colman, Danny Dyer, Jo Brand and Jason Manford, among others to give viewers insight into elements of the campaign.
Stand Up To Cancer is a joint fund-raising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, which seeks to raise money to accelerate cancer research aimed developing new treatments that will help save lives.
In the first film of the series, Olivia Colman takes viewers on a trip through the human body, shrinking to the size of a cell and demonstrating the use of ‘nano-tech rug parcels’ for cancer treatment. Another film sees Stephen Fry exploring the history of cancer, from its earliest known instances in dinosaurs to recent scientific breakthroughs.
Olivia Colman said: “I’m so proud to be a part of these exciting films and dearly hope it will spur more people on to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer’s research. With the extraordinary advances being achieved by this country’s most exceptional minds, it’s an important story to share. Such amazing things are happening in labs right here in the UK.”
Stephen Fry, who was treated for prostate cancer earlier this year, said: “I’ve always believed that history matters greatly. The past illuminates the present. The history of cancer is a pivotal and fascinating story. These wonderful films for Stand Up To Cancer lay that past bare, taboos and all, and stand testimony to the huge strides humans have made in beating this horrible disease.”
Special headsets for the experience are available at WHSmith stores all across the UK. For future coverage of new and upcoming VR experiences, keep checking back with VRFocus.
The Transformative Technology Conference and Expo, also known as Transtech, will be taking place soon. The event is focussed on uses of technology to improve mental health and emotional wellbeing, and covers many areas including psychology, neuroscience and immersive technology. Time is running out for anyone who wants to get tickets before the price rise kicks in, however.
Transtech 2018 is the 4th time the event has been held, and the organisers have arranged a variety of keynote speeches as well as break-out discussions, workshops and 1:1 matching so creators and innovators can talk with the right people to move products forward.
One of the speakers as the event is Philip Rosedale, one of the main names behind Second Life and the founder of virtual reality (VR) content company High Fidelity. He will be hosting a workshop during the event called ‘Establishing A Global Challenge for Transformation’.
Also set to speak at the event is Nenea Reeves, CEO and co-founder of TRIPP, who will be speaking on the subject of building mood-altering VR experiences. A broad range of other speakers from medical, technical and scientific backgrounds will also be at the event, such as Dr Ben Goertzel who will be speaking about AI and Blockchain, or Dr Victor Stretcher, from the University of Michigan, who will be discussing performance, purpose and public health.
Transtech is scheduled to take place from 9th-10th November, at El Camino Real in Palo Alto, California. General Admission tickets cost $275 (USD) and are available until 15th October, 2018. After that date, Late Registration tickets are available for $350, which is available until 9th November. Alternatively, Investor/Sponsor tickets cost $1,000, and VIP tickets cost $599.
Further information and tickets can be found on the EventBrite page. For further coverage on Transtech and other upcoming events relating to immersive technology, keep checking back with VRFocus.
Essentially existing as dark, narrow tunnels, MRI scanners can trigger claustrophobia in young children. There is no pain involved, but the whole process can be unnerving. Students have previously used
