Rockville (MD), May 22, 2017 — A medical student "operates" on a virtual patient. A surgeon sees an "augmented" vision of a patient with holograms and consults from other surgeons. A computer draws specific section of bone for surgical planning. Healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information estimates that the virtual reality in healthcare market in the United States grew from $525 million in 2012 to an estimated $976 million in 2017. The US virtual reality and augmented reality in healthcare market is expected to grow at roughly that level, according to Kalorama Information's report, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Market in Healthcare.

"The term 'virtual reality' is used in different contexts," says Kalorama's analyst Emil Salazar, the author of the firm's report. "Broadly, virtual reality is the means or capability to visualize and manipulate, or otherwise interact with, digital data representative of a real-world entity or environment. These digital data representatives are called virtual environments or VEs. VEs in healthcare would be an operating room, surgical site, patient anatomy, or therapeutic simulation."

The predominant markets for VR in healthcare and AR in healthcare are in surgery, medical education, professional training in healthcare, physical rehabilitation, pain management, and behavioral therapy. The report identifies scores of applications for virtual reality in healthcare, which include the following:
Surgery: Virtual reality technology has been particularly useful in robot-assisted orthopedic surgery. For instance, the Stryker Mako system highlights bone sections during surgical planning that are to be removed or shaved away for implant placement. The pre-operative 3D model is registered to the patient structure and becomes an interactive template during the procedure. The Mako burring instrument is directly held in the surgeon’s hand, but provides resistance against surgeon movements to keep the burr within the predefined removal area highlighted in the 3D model. Burring instrument operation on the surgical site also updates the virtual model with replicated bone material removal. The interactive virtual model improves the precision of orthopedic implant placement and mitigates excessive bone removal

· Pain Management: Numerous studies have demonstrated that patient distraction can be effective for pain relief and pain management. The immersive qualities of VR can significantly diminish patients’ active attention to painful procedures such as wound cleaning and needle insertion. The analgesic effect of VR may vary in relation to its sensory complexity and interactive capabilities. Additional sensory dimensions in the virtual environment may include olfactory inputs and haptic feedback. Interaction with the virtual environment also diverts patient attention from pain; many trials of pain management using VR involved a game requiring eye or motor movement to complete virtual task.

Health IT Homepage