Augmented reality (AR) is not limited to the gaming arena. The technology is creating gigantic waves in healthcare. Yes, you heard, right! AR in Healthcare has created a future of limitless possibilities.

The world of AR with goofy-looking headgear and sci-fi detours is ready to transform patient medical experiences. The next generation will make more distinguished advances, and we can expect more meaningful AR journeys.

As a healthcare organization, you’d want to know everything about the thriving technology. We got you.

In this blog, we will be looking at some of the most significant AR use cases in healthcare. Let’s dive in!

Advancements in Augmented Reality—Critical Insights

Before we look at some of the promising insights of augmented reality in the medical field, here are some crucial facts:

According to Gartner, 5G mobile network technology represents an opportunity to accelerate the adoption of AR. (Sources)
Gartner conducted a 5G enterprise survey. The study highlights that AR/VR applications of 5G attract the highest expectations and are drivers of new revenue across all use cases and respondents. (Source)
According to Forrester, by 2021, AR will be commonplace, while VR remains niche. (Source)
According to Zion Market Research, the Global Healthcare AR/VR market will reach USD 5,115 Million By 2025. The estimate will be at a CAGR of around 29.2% between 2019 and 2025. (Source)
Another critical insight where experts highlight the AR market would grow into an 18 billion USD valuation by 2023. (Source)

It is quite evident that augmented journeys are essential. The critical question is—what does it mean for your healthcare organization? How will you benefit from the augmented reality journey?

Let’s find out.

Opportunities for Augmented Reality in Healthcare

The new applications for AR in the healthcare sector can enhance patient care. How?

First, AR can help doctors diagnose and treat patients accurately. With access to real-time patient data, they can perform functions better than before.

The novel ways of AR in the healthcare industry are groundbreaking. Let’s check out some of the new opportunities.

1. Augmented Surgery

Imagine the power of AR—surgeons visualizing bones and internal organs of patients without having to cut open a body. Now, that’s great, isn’t it?

Surgeons can get access to real-time, life-saving patient information. They can now use this data during complicated or straightforward procedures.

How?

Surgeons can use AR to study their patients’ anatomy. They can enter their MRI data, and CT scans into an AR headset. Then, overlay specific patient anatomy on top of their body before going into surgery.

The process will help surgeons to visualize muscles, bones, and internal organs. You’re right without cutting open a body! With AR, surgeons can perform accurate and low-risk surgeries, saving time.

Scenario: Surgeons and doctors at hospitals like Imperial College and St. Mary’s Hospital in London have begun using Microsoft’s HoloLens AR glasses during reconstructive surgery on patients who have suffered severe injuries.

Startups in Augmented Surgery

Let’s look at some of the promising startups in the augmented surgery arena.

Startup	Features
BioFlightVR	Offers VR/AR doctor training and 360° enhanced videos AR/VR medical training module helps students and doctors refine their learning and increase retention.
EchoPixel	Uses medical imaging devices, helping physicians with displays of a 3D model, using CT images of a patient’s abdomen EchoPixel True 3D AR product uses medical image datasets enabling medical professionals to see patient-specific anatomy in an open 3D space
Vipaar	AR video support solution Enables surgeons to remotely project their hands into the display of a surgeon on site wearing the AR technology and guide during the procedure
Proximie	Provides hands-on virtual assistance Enables a remote surgeon to virtually scrub-in
Medical Realities	Offers medical training products, specializing in AR/VR and gaming Medical procedures can be viewable on consumer VR devices, such as the Oculus Rift

2. Augmented Diagnosis

You must have observed that some patients find it challenging to describe their symptoms to doctors accurately. Now, with AR, patients will be able to express their symptoms better. The process will make it easier for doctors to determine their patients’ symptoms and accurately diagnose them.

Scenario: Imagine a patient coming to a doctor for a necessary shot. The nurse can now use AR to find veins easily. How? Using AccuVein, an AR startup that uses a handheld scanner, nurses can determine where the veins are.

Startups in Augmented Diagnostics

Let’s look at some of the promising startups in the augmented diagnostics arena.

Startup	Features
Orca Health’s EyeDecide	- The app can simulate the impact of specific conditions on a person’s vision
AccuVein	- Uses AR and a handheld scanner that projects over the skin and shows nurses and doctors where veins are in the patients’ bodies
Augmedix	- Cuts down on administration - A technology-enabled documentation service where physicians don’t have to check their computers during patient visits and generate medical notes in real-time
SentiAR	- Helps transform the experience in interventional procedures using real-time holography of the patient’s anatomy and catheter location
Atheer	- Helped establish AiR (Augmented interactive Reality) computing - AiR Smartglasses integrates hand-tracking and gesture control with their see-through display enabling users to interact using familiar gestures, voice commands, and motion tracking.
Meta	- Assists doctors and surgeons with patient information and data with a total AR experience

3. Augmented Practice

What happens when medical students make mistakes in a real-life procedure? You’re right! It would be disastrous. However, learning in the dissection lab and real-life methods is essential. Now, that’s where AR can be revolutionary to the field of medicine and education.

Medical institutions are beginning to implement AR into their curriculum to provide students with valuable hands-on learning experiences. With AR in education, it would be easy to simulate patients and surgical encounters for students. AR technologies can allow medical students to visualize and practice theories during their training.

Scenario: Using AR apps, students can check out the overlay anatomy data on a 3D human skeleton. The visualization would help them to understand better how the human body works.

Startups in Augmented Practice

Startup	Features
ImmersiveTouch	- Provides hi-tech solutions in training and education using VR/AR - Offers comprehensive education solutions including next-generation surgical simulators and learning management systems
Touch Surgery	- Allows users to practice surgery irrespective of time and place - Disseminates the best techniques and procedures to improve the quality of operation worldwide

As you can see, there’s an enormous opportunity for the healthcare industry with innovative new AR products and applications.

Practical Use Cases of AR in Healthcare

AR applications in healthcare aren’t limited to AR glasses. Today, Physicians are using AR very effectively during interventional procedures. Examples include Computerized Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) visualization paths.

You would also find AR used increasingly in medical education. So, the possibilities are limitless, fun, and exciting.

Let’s explore some significant real-life use cases of how AR apps are improving the patient medical experience.

1. Augmented Reality Showing Defibrillators Nearby and Saving Lives

Picture this—you have a relative next to you, who collapses suddenly. What would you do? Yes, after controlling the rush of emotions, you’d wish to reach out to someone. You may think of calling a doctor, an ambulance, or your friends for help.

Here’s an interesting option. You can consider downloading the Layar reality browser combined with AED4EU app to your phone next to the basic emergency numbers. If you get into a similar situation, then you would be able to help more.

Lucien Engelen, who worked at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, created the AED4EU, which can add places where automated external defibrillators or AEDs are located. The great part—physicians can access the database through the new application.

You can also project the exact location of the nearest AEDs on the screen of your phone with the Layar browser. Next, it would take less than a few minutes to find them and also help the ones in need.

2. Virtual Collaboration Between Physicians With AR

What if the primary surgeon is miles away? AR can come to your rescue. If the primary surgeon is away, and a specialist on hand has possession of AR tools, then the professional can follow instructions and help.

Doctors can use AR with collaborative surgeries, and even have effective meetings on any medical issue with AR video conferencing. It could be a life-saving moment with specialists located far away from the clinic helping out.

3. Google Glass Can Help Guide New Mothers with Breastfeeding

Google Glass can help mothers struggling with breastfeeding get some expert help.

Melbourne-based innovation company, Small World, conducted a Google Glass trial with the Australian Breastfeeding Association. In the trial, telephone counselors could see through the eyes of mothers while they breastfed at home.

The insights could help struggling mothers get expert help throughout the day. The best part—the mothers didn’t have to put down their babies from their arms.

4. Augmented Reality in Surgery

Surgeries used to have a high mortality rate. Now, with AR, procedures can be much safer than before. AR can assist doctors and specialists, providing them all the necessary information when trying to save patients’ lives.

As physicians operate, they can be more aware of organ location, meshes of the vein, and diagnosis reports, appearing right in front of their eyes.

The technology can undoubtedly help to minimize risks. Moreover, it will help to reduce detailed surgical processes dramatically.

5. Augmented Reality can Help Patients to Describe Their Symptoms Better

An accurate diagnosis needs symptoms detailed out accurately. You may have observed that patients quite often struggle with describing their symptoms. Such situations could lead to an erroneous diagnosis.

Let’s look at AR in Ophthalmology; the technology could help with patient education. EyeDecide, a medical app, uses the camera display for simulating the impact of specific conditions on a person’s vision. Apps like EyeDecide, doctors, can now show a simulation of the vision of a patient suffering from a specific condition.

So, patients can understand their symptoms and their actual medical state for scenarios, such as Cataract or AMD. When patients comprehend the long-term effects of their lifestyle on their health, there is a greater possibility of them making positive changes.

6. AR Can Help Nurses Find Veins Easily

AccuVein, a start-up firm, is using AR, which is helping both nurses and patients’. How? Most IVs (intravenous injections) typically miss the vein on the first stick. The situation worsens for children and the elderly.

Now, AccuVein uses augmented reality by using a handheld scanner that projects over the skin and shows nurses and physicians where veins are in the patients’ bodies. According to Vinny Luciano, AccuVein’s marketing specialist, technology has been used on more than 10 million patients. The AR app helps with finding a vein on the first stick 3.5x more likely.

7. Pharma Companies Can Offer Innovative Drug Information

Imagine studying some boring and indecipherable drug descriptions. It doesn’t sound exciting, isn’t it? Although it would have been fun to know how a drug works in your body. How can you explore the world of pills and also have fun? Augmented Reality is your answer.

Patients can now see how the drug works in 3D. How? With the help of AR, patients can explore how drugs work. Lab workers could also monitor their experiments with AR equipment.

8. Hololens Can Help With the Study of Anatomy

Wouldn’t it be nice to visualize the human body in an easy and explorative way? Now, that’s a reality! Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic have partnered with Microsoft and released a HoloLens app. The app is called HoloAnatomy, and it helps to visualize the human body in a simple-and-spectacular way.

The HoloLens Headset from Microsoft can help app users to see everything from muscles to the smallest veins on a dynamic holographic model. Such apps can revolutionize medical education shortly, as students would be able to visualize the human body in 3D.

9. Helping Kids Learn About the Human Body

The UK-based company, Curiscope, developed the Virtuali-tee T-shirt. The company is popular for creating immersive learning experiences. So, what’s about a T-shirt? Why would kids love it?

Here’s the thing—you can see the inner parts of the human body through realistic holograms. Virtuali-tee brings anatomy to life, making it fun and exciting for kids to explore the human body.

As you can see, you already have plenty of examples of AR in healthcare. Augmented reality will continue to generate value for healthcare organizations and improve patient care. It’s up to you to discover new business processes and explore how AR can help you improve your systems.

If you are overwhelmed, then you can always reach out to an expert developer, such as Imaginovation, who can help you with crafting a meaningful AR journey for your organization.

Time to Plan Your Augmented Reality Journey

As a forward-thinking entrepreneur, you will need to take some critical steps to set up or integrate AR in your systems-and-processes.

You can brainstorm with your team to ensure a smooth transition by thinking about how and where to integrate your existing technologies with AR. You can also streamline the apps that you want to use and train and re-skill your employees properly.

A word of caution—with the use of AR, you will also need to plan steps to ensure the security of patient data. With wearables, there could be data privacy issues, and you would need to have a detailed plan on security.

Finally, get ready to explore the exciting world of augmented reality. Choose apps that can help you improve the patient medical experience and enjoy streamlining your healthcare processes.

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