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Applications of virtual and augmented reality in infectious disease epidemics with a focus on the COVID-19 outbreak

From www.sciencedirect.com - July 25, 2021 10:31 AM

The pandemics of major infectious diseases often cause public health, economic, and social problems. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), as two novel technologies, have been used in many fields for emergency management of disasters. The objective of this paper was to review VR and AR applications in the emergency management of infectious outbreaks with an emphasis on the COVID-19 outbreak.

It appears that VR and AR technologies can play a positive role during infectious disease outbreaks.

VR and AR have been widely used in the prevention and response phases of emergency management during infectious disease pandemics, such as SARS and Ebola pandemics, especially for educating and training purposes for the public.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, these technologies have the potential to be used in various fields, including

1) clinical context (e.g., telehealth, drug discovery, patient assessment, mental health management),

2) entertainment (e.g., video call, meditation, gaming),

3) business and industry (e.g., holding meetings and conferences, marketing), and

4) education (e.g., in schools and universities, for healthcare providers, and VR-based content for improving public health).

These technologies can be used in the above-mentioned fields by providing their different features for facilitating the challenges of COVID-19.

However, to respond to COVID-19, all applications of VR and AR should be considered as a supportive approach alongside other information technologies.

We believe that VR and AR have a substantial potential to impact the emergency management of COVID-19 or any infectious disease pandemics; however, these potentials need to be studied in a more robust manner.

read the paper ta https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352914821000691

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COVID-19 is VR's time to shine

From www.mobihealthnews.com - June 16, 2020 6:09 PM

The leading digital health narrative emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic has been the rise of telehealth and live video consultations as a reliable modality for delivering care.

But have other, younger health-delivery technologies been enjoying a similar rise in adoption? For virtual reality, the answer appears to be yes – with some caveats.

Healthcare VR programs and startups have had to navigate several unexpected roadblocks as a result of the outbreak, leading to a number of in-hospital deployments and research projects being sidelined or modified.

Others have stayed the course or even flourished, with at-home and remote-care deployments in particular finding little need to slow down.

The broader healthcare industry's recent ideological shift toward digital health technologies has stakeholders of all kinds anticipating a long-term boost to the adoption of VR for care.

"Everyone is talking about telemedicine as sort of the solution to overcoming the physical barriers between patients and their providers, and there's no doubt that's taken off in a big way ... but there still are very important limitations to that that VR can help overcome,"

"It is an opportunity for VR to shine right now – if we can figure out how best to do it."

read the original unedited article at https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/depth-despite-some-hiccups-covid-19-vrs-time-shine

nrip's insight:

this is the time for digital health to be adopted with an open mind, for its pros, for its ease of use, for its simplicity, for its long term cost benefits.

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Experiential Virtual Scenarios With Real-Time Monitoring for the Management of Psychological Stress

From www.jmir.org - July 14, 2014 12:15 PM

Background: The recent convergence between technology and medicine is offering innovative methods and tools for behavioral health care. Among these, an emerging approach is the use of virtual reality (VR) within exposure-based protocols for anxiety disorders, and in particular posttraumatic stress disorder. However, no systematically tested VR protocols are available for the management of psychological stress.

Objective: Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a new technological paradigm, Interreality, for the management and prevention of psychological stress. The main feature of Interreality is a twofold link between the virtual and the real world achieved through experiential virtual scenarios (fully controlled by the therapist, used to learn coping skills and improve self-efficacy) with real-time monitoring and support (identifying critical situations and assessing clinical change) using advanced technologies (virtual worlds, wearable biosensors, and smartphones).

Results: Although both treatments were able to significantly reduce perceived stress better than WL, only EG participants reported a significant reduction (EG=12% vs CG=0.5%) in chronic “trait” anxiety. A similar pattern was found for coping skills: both treatments were able to significantly increase most coping skills, but only EG participants reported a significant increase (EG=14% vs CG=0.3%) in the Emotional Support skill.

Conclusions: Our findings provide initial evidence that the Interreality protocol yields better outcomes than the traditionally accepted gold standard for psychological stress treatment: CBT. Consequently, these findings constitute a sound foundation and rationale for the importance of continuing future research in technology-enhanced protocols for psychological stress management.

more at http://www.jmir.org/2014/7/e167/

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Teaching doctors to deal with patients using Virtual Reality

From www.zdnet.com - May 5, 2021 4:51 AM

For medical students and junior doctors, training can be hit and miss. Sometimes you sit down with an actor who plays the part of a patient and rehearse giving a difficult diagnosis, sometimes there's a dummy that you examine, with a colleague shouting out imaginary symptoms along the lines of "His blood pressure's gone through the floor!" or "She looks sweaty and confused now!"

In most cases, your imagination has to do the legwork, converting the unmoving peach-coloured rubber torso into a patient urgently in need of assistance or the actor into someone who's about to get bad news. If you're lucky, you get to practice this way a few times a year.

If you're in a pandemic, you might not even get that. With training oftentimes taking place in hospitals, students and trainers now can't go to these facilities in order to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID. So now a number of universities and medical institutions are turning to virtual reality to bridge the training gap

read about it at https://www.zdnet.com/article/virtual-reality-has-found-a-new-role-teaching-doctors-to-deal-with-patients/

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How Virtual Reality is Gaining Traction in Healthcare

From www.healthline.com - June 24, 2016 6:00 PM

Virtual reality has been making headlines for its potential to transform the ways we interact with our environments.

Breakthrough technologies like the Oculus Rift headset have made for incredibly lifelike experiences, notably in gaming and other forms of digital entertainment.

Aside from its boom in the media sector, virtual reality has also emerged as an innovative tool in healthcare.

Both virtual and augmented reality technologies are popping up in healthcare settings such as operating rooms, or being streamed to consumers via telehealth communications. In many cases, virtual reality has enabled medical professionals to execute care more safely and effectively.

As virtual and augmented realities enter the mainstream, the technologies have become more accessible to the general consumer population.

With a $15 price tag, Google Cardboard allows users to stretch physical limits with a smartphone — no extensive scientific knowledge required. That same philosophy is being applied to virtual reality in the healthcare industry, empowering patients to take charge of their health.

Dr. Leslie Saxon, founder and executive director of the USC Center for Body Computing, is leading several initiatives to make virtual and mixed reality more patient friendly.

The center’s Virtual Care Clinic system features an app that connects patients to medical expertise similar to what they would receive at the doctor’s office. The app displays Saxon’s image, guiding users through different courses of medical care.

But patients using the app aren’t interacting with Saxon herself. Instead, they are following instructions issued by a virtual rendering of the doctor.

Using a virtual human agent may seem like a detached method of doctor-patient communication, but Saxon believes it to be the exact opposite. With this kind of technology, she told Healthline, patients could get their questions answered in an environment free from judgment. They can access information on their own time and at their own pace.

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