Could ‘virtual medicine’ be the new buzzword for the health industry in the future? Contrary to the laments of the media and parents of video game-addicted teens, virtual reality has uses beyond entertainment, and far more than we can imagine. The beauty of this technological age is that various applications can be developed from one invention. The latest application of this amazing technology called virtual reality is medicine.

The field of healthcare is particularly suited and could look forward to promising developments in virtual reality. Medical simulators, image-guided surgery, virtual reality applications and robotics-enhanced orthopedic technologies are currently available and widely used throughout the world. With the use of 3-D image technology and the emergence of tactile simulations, doctors and surgeons in training can interact, learn and practice in a virtual environment. Through the use of robotic devices, procedures such as laparoscopy and coronary artery bypass grafting have become less invasive, thus minimizing risk. Virtual reality technology allows for surgery planning in breast enhancement and reconstructive surgery, as the patient can view the expected outcome before actually going under the knife.

The new and exciting application of virtual reality and robotics in medicine is the product of research and development that have been conducted for many decades. In the 1970s and 1980s, robots have been replacing jobs that humans cannot or do not want to do. Robots have been deployed to in battlefields, nuclear power plants and even in space to bail out man from working in dangerous and hazardous situations.

On the other hand, virtual reality - the technology that allows users to interact in a three-dimensional world using their natural senses - has gained many advances in recent years. Through enhanced graphics and force feedback to simulate the sense of touch, the creation of a “telepresence” has almost perfectly mimicked the real world. Scientists have thus realized that virtual reality and robotics can indeed be applied to the medical arena, most especially in the area of surgery. Indeed, the use of virtual reality in medicine is more than most people, including medical practitioners realize.

The field of medical studies and surgical training is made much more efficient with virtual reality. Training future doctors and surgeons is expensive, not to mention the logistical difficulties encountered in obtaining a patient to practice on and in the supervision of the procedure. Traditionally, surgical trainees employ artificial tissues or inanimate objects that do not exactly replicate the actual human body. With the various virtual reality training gadgets being available, doctors-in-training can perform simulated cardiac catheterization and endoscopies. Medical students and nurses can practice venepuncture using a currently available stimulator that even replicates force feedback as the cannula enters the vein. Learning outside of the operating room theatre has definitely gained ground with the use of virtual reality.

Virtual reality is indeed the perfect training ground for future medical and surgical practitioners. Aside from the knife and the scalpel, surgery has found its new indispensable tool – virtual reality.

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 11:00 am and is filed under Articles, FutureTechnology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.