The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way the world operates, affecting households, families, and people in general almost immediately after it made its first report on 31st December 2019. As a result, the pace at which digital transformation is evolving is increasing, thus affecting the way people use technology today.
Consequently, in an age of stay-at-home environments, Virtual Reality, which offers immersive time experiences not otherwise possible, is becoming a usual tool in society. The PWC report predicts that XR will boost global economic growth by 1.8% by 2030, indicating that it will continue to make a positive impact on society.
Because VR is best known in the gaming realm, there is sometimes a misconception that it’s importance will cease post-pandemic. However, the use of VR specifically in healthcare education has developed since then and now provides a more intuitive way to train and support healthcare professionals, which in turn will improve efficiency training and higher skill levels among treating patients in hospitals and clinics.
When looking at the current state of healthcare in the UK, there is a national outcry as regulators are observing a shortage of qualified staff, which increases the challenges of supporting vulnerable communities. According to the UK’s Shortage Occupation List for 2021, the medical education gap is nowhere near closing. In addition, by looking at Nuffield Trust data, there are 60 doctors per 100,000 patients, resulting in an 11,500-person shortfall by the end of the decade.”
In light of today’s workforce crisis, we can see a solid place for virtual reality simulations to enhance how doctors provide lessons in the classroom and give doctors of the future more effective ways to remotely learn real-life emergencies.
The applications aimed to has great potential to improve industry resources and enhance community experiences for many years to come as we learn more about the healthcare system.
Here’s to VR for the future!
As the plot of XR reality thickens in the year 2021, bringing forth an endless universe of possibilities, it is happening with such rapidity that it can barely be contained! The pursuit to strive for the same high standard of transportation that was driven by the likes of Charles Wheatstone, William Gruber, and Sir David Bruster many moons ago makes all of us appreciate history as their pioneering minds were a blueprint for success.
In 1838, Charles Wheatstone discovered an illusion of the mind, a study of how the brain processes imagery by showing that if you put a 2Dimensional image over each eye, the brain will interpret it as a 3D image. Seeing the images through a stereoscope gave the user a sense of depth. Because we are so far back in time, the images did not move. Nevertheless, it created a three-dimensional space from a flat image. In the years following, William B. Gruber, inspired by stereoscopic images, modified them by rotating images on a disk within a special viewer. This was named the Viewmaster and it was designed to push the boundaries of VR at its infancy. Later in 1849, Sir David Brewster, a scientist whose ideas were renowned for their inventiveness, created a wooden box wherein photos could be inserted and natural light would be used for illumination. This was an object of the highest class throughout the 19th century.
Over 80 years of virtual reality development have passed with little movement, allowing the field to stagnate until 1929 when a man named Edward Link developed a flight simulator to train pilots. Over half a million pilots were trained on his simulator, which was the first mechanical tech invented, and when Virtual Reality took on a broader meaning, it was a simulation. It would seem that the brains of mankind could not get any brighter when Mortem Highwig took his love of the movie business to the next level by integrating it seamlessly into his immersive creation. The chair would have stereo speakers that would allow you to pan the sound, a 3D movie would play and a fan would blow aromas to give you the illusion that you were in another world. Cool, isn’t it? I remember watching a 3D version of Avatar with my eyes wide open and my back glued to the seat, not knowing a thing about its evolution, as a young girl. Knowing what I know now about VR gives me an unimaginable sense of inspiration and intrigue at how humanity continues to make the impossible, possible.
We’ve seen how VR excites and revolutionises the entertainment and technology spheres in ways that have far exceeded our imagination. It is invigorating to see the work of companies we know as Google, Apple, and Sony and we can only imagine what’s next. Thus, VR has no restrictions on the industries it impacts. For example, in the automotive, sports and healthcare industries, it has changed the ways in which professionals train and support their students, bringing them to a more safe and intuitive environment in preparation for real-life emergencies.
Since VR is best known in the gaming realm and has recently been popularized in a more stay-at-home environment, there is sometimes a misconception that its impact will cease post-pandemic. What I’d like to know is why? The emergence of this technology goes well beyond trendy headsets and flying headboards as its role in the healthcare arena specifically, will allow for higher skill levels and more efficient training.
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way the world operates, affecting households, families, and people in general almost immediately after it made its first report on 31st December 2019. We have found that the healthcare industry has suffered immensely through this period as regulators are observing a shortage of qualified staff, which increases the challenges of supporting vulnerable communities. UK’s Shortage Occupations report for 2021 reveals that there have been issues in finding competent and qualified healthcare workers for quite some time before the pandemic. The Nuffield Trust recently published data showing that there are 60 GP’s per 100,000 patients in the UK, which would result in an 11,500-person shortfall by the end of the decade.”
The data above clearly demonstrates a serious problem, and this is where VR training solutions can make a big difference in healthcare. Still there? OK, that’s good because things will only get better from here.
Our very own Resuscitation VR gives users an amplitude of situations to be able to practise and refine their critical decision making in a very safe and intuitive environment. By using an immersive audio-visual experience, it can train doctors for emergencies in the future. A lead physician in the room guides the entire process during this cost-effective tool which is divided into different modules. Our solution saves so much time, resources, and plays a key role in saving lives! All the more reason why we believe VR can play a huge role in advancing education for years to come.
