Big tech companies such as Meta and Microsoft have been elaborating how metaverse could revolutionize the world. While it is yet to be seen how the evolution of metaverse can impact industries other than tech, healthcare and medicine have already started incorporating beneficial aspects of the metaverse to their advantage. 

According to a CNBC report, the healthcare industry has now started using components such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) in software and hardware to improve the proficiency of medical devices and expand the reach of medical care. 

Although the “metaverse” has been gaining popularity ever since Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement earlier in 2021, the metaverse has been around for quite some time. Simply put, the metaverse is an extension of VR, AR, and mixed reality (MR) technologies. The metaverse is a virtual universe that comprises a set of interconnected spaces online where one can partake in activities like gaming, shopping, and events by donning virtual avatars. 

With instances such as WHO using AR to train COVID-19 first responders through smartphones and psychiatrists turning to VR to treat PTSD in veterans, the metaverse is slowly making its way into healthcare. 

In fact, according to Globenewswire AR in the global healthcare market is expected to grow to $1.42 billion in 2021 and $4.15 billion by 2025 from $1.06 billion in 2020.

Here’s a look at how some big tech and other industries are adopting various components of the metaverse to gradually change healthcare as we know it. 

Meta’s Oculus

Meta acquired the Oculus VR headset in 2014. Since then, it has had multiple collaborations within the healthcare industry. 

The most notable was the collaboration with Nexus Studios and the WHO Academy. Meta’s research and development department created a mobile app that allowed healthcare workers to learn more about battling COVID-19.

The app, which is available in 7 languages, also provides a hands-on training course to healthcare providers about proper techniques and sequence of putting on and removing personal protective equipment. 

The Oculus tech has also been adopted by the University of Connecticut’s medical center to train orthopedic surgery residents. The university has teamed up with Canadian medical software, PrecisionOS which allows residents to visualize a range of surgical procedures in 3D to practice their skills. 

Microsoft’s HoloLens

Microsoft introduced the HoloLens smart glasses in 2016. Stryker, a medical tech company was one of its early adopters. In 2017, Stryker started using the AR device to improve the process of designing operating theaters. With more developments of the HoloLens 2, Stryker engineers are now able to create shared OTs with the use of holograms. 

Zimmer Biomet, a medical device company, recently revealed its OptiVu MR Solutions platform. The platform utilizes the HoloLens device for three specific applications. The first application uses MR in manufacturing surgical tools; the second collects and stores data to track patient progress before and after surgery; the third allows medical professionals to share a MR experience with patients ahead of a procedure.

Use Of Other VR And AR Tech In Healthcare

At the Miller School of Medicine, instructors utilized AR, VR, and MR to train first-responders to treat trauma patients who have had a stroke, heart attack, or a gunshot wound. Students practice life-saving cardiac procedures on life-like mannequins that realistically simulate nearly any cardiac disease wearing a set of VR headsets.

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeons performed the first-ever AR surgeries on living patients in June 2021 donning headsets made by Israeli firm Augmedics. Timothy Witham, MD, Director of the Johns Hopkins Neurosurgery Department described the experience as, “ having a GPS navigator in front of your eyes when performing surgery.”