VR stands for Virtual Reality and simply put, it’s a computer-generated version of one’s reality. If you put on a VR headset, it will block your view of the real reality as it is designed to fool your senses and show you another view instead.
VR technology has made great strides in recent times. More and more people are showing interest in how the new technology can be used in many areas of healthcare.
Many researchers and doctors and even entrepreneurs say that virtual reality looks promising in treating various disorders, phobias, and pain but also in disease forecasting and prevention.
In the article below, we list several use cases of using virtual reality in healthcare and how it enhances medicine as a whole.
Pain Management
The greatest advantage of virtual reality is that it is an efficient and useful tool in managing and relieving pain. Patients who suffer from extreme pains have found that immersive VR has effectively distracted them, particularly when the use of sedation or anesthesia has been contraindicated.
As patients with severe pains may very likely not want to leave their homes for therapy sessions, luckily there are now compassionate virtual clinics such as XRhealth that provide medical and treatments via telehealth. Skilled VR therapy sessions by XRhealth are offered via FDA-registered medical VR applications, guided by professional and licensed therapists. Your therapist will perform a clinical evaluation and establish a plan of care that you can implement remotely from the comfort of your home or in an open space where there’s a stable internet connection.
Medical Training
Virtual reality helps medical students sharpen their skills by taking a virtual journey across the human body without having to dissect human corpses. In addition, it helps young professionals learn how to interact with various medical instruments in a safe environment via 3D models or virtual presence.
The great thing about VR is that any type of medical situation can be simulated using this technology and future clinicians feel as though they’re dealing with a particular real-life situation. They learn to interact with the human body, they learn from their mistakes and they are offered practical and lifelike training which ultimately helps them gain necessary skills.
Nothing beats real-world experience but learning through virtual reality gives medical schools and training centers limitless possibilities at a whole different level.
Dentistry
Dentistry is another area in healthcare where virtual reality is becoming an essential part of modern education and assists future professionals in gaining knowledge, special skills, and adapting to new devices.
The virtual reality educational devices are valuable as they allow dentistry enthusiasts to study 3D models and the texture of teeth, jaws, and mouth all while providing the most realistic dental processes modeling, problems, different pathologies, and treatment methods.
This method improves their motor skills, hand-eye coordination and helps them tackle challenges while training.
Physical Rehabilitation
Patients who have suffered physical trauma have found great comfort when using virtual reality-based rehabilitation therapies as it has helped them recover faster. Patients who have lost a limb such as a leg or an arm experience excruciating pain and using virtual reality has proven to be well-suited and beneficial in their recovery and in their efforts to find relief.
Patients are enabled to perform functions with the missing limb, and at the same time, they are allowed to release any form of stress and stop the phantom limb pain.
Psychological Disorders
Psychological disorders such as different fears and phobias have been successfully managed when using virtual reality in a controlled and patient-tailored environment. Through VR, patients are slowly introduced to their specific fears and they can overcome them as they become more confident.
VR is found helpful when assessing the level of brain damage in patients as a series of tests can be taken through a VR headset to analyze the patient’s brain activity.
Healthier Lifestyle
All around the world, people are fighting to overcome problems involving harmful addictions. Modern medical VR technologies are used to show a person through visual illustrations or transformations the consequences that could arise from their poor choices.
The solutions VR provides can help them realize what the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices are and help them determine how long it would take them to recover from their bad habits. It serves as an excellent way to motivate and control patients during their struggles and function well.
Final Thoughts
Virtual reality is changing the medical field today and offers plenty of healthcare opportunities as it is constantly evolving and replenished with new benefits.
The search for affordable healthcare shows no signs of decline and with its advantages in different areas, VR has become a field worth investing in, both for patients and healthcare providers.
