Virtual reality isn’t just for fun and games. It’s an incredibly useful technology in a variety of industries, including medicine. VR’s ability to provide immersive, interactive environments to help medical professionals with learning and treatment is a revolutionary upgrade for medical training and therapy.
By enabling realistic simulations, VR allows both students and healthcare professionals to practice medical procedures and further their skills in a controlled, safe environment. VR also offers innovative solutions for specialties like pain management, physical rehabilitation, and mental health. The growing adoption rate of VR in medicine shows how beneficial the tool is by reducing costs, enhancing patient care, and improving the overall quality of medical care.
The evolution of VR in medical training
The first introduction of early VR technology in the medical field was in the 1990s as rudimentary surgical simulations. They allowed surgical trainees to “perform” surgery in a virtual environment. However, limitations like bulky equipment and poor graphics reduced the utility of the technology.
Technological advancements of the last 30 years have enabled more sophisticated, interactive, and immersive VR experiences and boosted the technology’s practicality in medicine. Today’s modern VR headsets, including the Oculus Rift, Meta Quest, and HTC Vive, offer high-resolution displays, improved comfort, and precise motion tracking.
Software advancements also played a crucial role. With realistic simulations of surgical procedures, anatomy, and patient interactions, VR medical training software helps train students to deal with real-world cases through hands-on experience.
Benefits of VR in medical training
Virtual reality simulations enhance medical and nursing education, helping students of different levels train, learn, and improve their skills.
Enhanced learning experience
Although textbooks offer medical students a wealth of knowledge, hands-on and experiential learning allow for the practical application of concepts for enhanced learning. Virtual reality is a hybrid version of these learning styles, enabling medical trainees to engage with realistic scenarios.
By facilitating the practice of complex procedures in a risk-free setting, VR reduces the chance of students making mistakes in real-life scenarios. This can boost their confidence and proficiency in completing procedures. VR also gives students the chance to simulate hands-on experience with critical or rare cases they may not otherwise see in their medical training. Bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical applications, VR enhances the learning experience for medical students to improve information comprehension.
Increased retention and engagement
The proof is in the numbers when it comes to judging how helpful virtual reality technology is in medical training. For example, a recent study of laparoscopic surgery training showed that 87% of participants had a higher accuracy rate in medical practice after utilizing VR.
Another study assessing students’ perceptions of VR in medical education found that 90% of surveyed students believed that using VR tools benefitted them. Seventy percent also agreed that the technology encourages more student-centric learning. According to Harvard Business Review, VR training has improved participants’ overall surgical performance by a whopping 230% compared to traditional medical training methods.
Real-time feedback and assessment
VR training provides medical trainees with real-time feedback, which allows them to understand what went wrong with their technique and to make instant adjustments for their virtual patients. Instant feedback is a crucial step in learning complex procedures while improving both technical and soft skills.
While VR helps prepare students to engage with real-life practice and surgical training, it also lets them practice using their soft skills to communicate with their patients. A critical part of a healthcare professional’s job is knowing how to speak with patients in both routine and emergency situations.
VR systems track detailed performance metrics like speed, accuracy, and decision-making to provide personalized feedback and thorough assessments. This reporting helps trainees identify skills in need of improvement and empowers educators to tailor their teaching to each individual’s needs to improve learning outcomes.
Applications of VR in medical training
VR technology offers immersive learning benefits in versatile medical fields, ranging from physiology and anatomy education to emergency response training.
Surgical training
Practicing complicated surgical techniques on real patients isn’t exactly the most ideal scenario. But virtual reality training allows students to practice complex surgical procedures in a risk-free environment.
VR simulation tools for surgery, such as the Osso VR and da Vinci Surgical System, provide students with realistic, immersive learning experiences mimicking real-life surgeries. These systems allow trainees to hone their skills in a controlled setting while receiving instant notes and assessments of their performance. Using VR equipment reduces the likelihood of trainees making errors in real-world scenarios by improving their precision and confidence, ultimately leading to stronger patient outcomes.
Emergency response training
Medical professionals must make quick decisions in the face of critical situations. Virtual reality training gives students the chance to simulate scenarios like trauma cases and natural disasters to refine their skills in high-pressure situations. By practicing clinical decision-making in a high-stakes virtual environment, trainees can make mistakes through experimental learning without needing to worry about patient safety.
Repeating and practicing these scenarios improves students’ teamwork capabilities, response times, and decision-making while boosting their confidence. Once in the field, these trained medical professionals are better-equipped to handle emergency cases.
Anatomy and physiology education
The subjects of anatomy and physiology are two particularly demanding and tedious aspects of medical education. Virtual reality tools transform this process by immersing trainees in interactive 3D models and virtual dissections to make it easier and more interactive.
Using digital representations of the human body helps trainees understand its complex systems and structures to improve understanding and information retention. VR platforms like 3D Organon and BodyVR bring the body to life by allowing for the manipulation of anatomical components, hands-on dissections, and real-time observation of physiological processes.
VR in medical therapy
In addition to training and medical education, virtual reality augments medical therapies like pain management and physical rehabilitation.
Physical rehabilitation
Using virtual reality in physical therapy and rehabilitation supports patients who are recovering motor skills, among other capabilities. They engage in a virtual environment filled with immersive, interactive exercises designed to recover or improve coordination and movement.
MindMotionPro, REAL System, and other VR programs enable patients to perform target activities, ranging from reaching for objects to walking on varying terrains. These programs motivate patients with and lead to improved treatment plan adherence. They also provide real-time feedback to care providers, allowing for dynamic treatment adjustments. VR’s ability to simulate exciting scenarios makes the process of regaining functional abilities faster, more effective, and even more engaging.
Mental health treatment
Therapists use VR to create controlled yet engaging virtual environments for mental health treatment. Exposure therapy via VR platforms aids individuals with anxiety disorders and PTSD by allowing them to confront their triggers in a safe setting alongside their therapist. A recent study showed that 88.9% of therapists feel that telehealth reduces barriers, 61.1% believe it enhances therapy, and 66.7% adapted their exposure therapy to include VR tools.
Programs like Limbix and Bravemind immerse patients in simulations of anxiety-inducing situations or traumatic events. These simulations help them process and desensitize to these experiences under professional supervision and guidance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, VR facilitated the continuation of psychological healthcare while patients still followed social distancing guidelines, underscoring the importance of the technology.
Pain management
Virtual reality tools can be effective in pain management cases by reducing pain intensity and providing effective distractions. Some examples of using VR tools for these applications include mindfulness practices, guided meditation and imagery, and cognitive behavioral therapy. The FDA continues approving VR and augmented reality tools for treating patients in domains like neurological disorders, pediatric diagnostics and treatment, pain management, and more.
For example, the FDA studied the EaseVRx treatment program and found that 66% of study participants reported greater than a 30% reduction in pain. Another study and systematic review found that VR can reduce both chronic and acute pain, with more than an hour of lasting pain relief after VR exposure.
Challenges and limitations
As with most groundbreaking technologies in their early stages, virtual reality platforms nursing and medical education and actual therapies have limitations and challenges.
Cost and accessibility
The high cost of VR equipment and software creates implementation challenges for both medical therapy and training applications. Advanced VR headsets and simulation software are costly, which may limit access to these tools to only well-funded institutions. However, the cost of implementing a VR platform depends upon the extent of the system on a per-facility basis.
Research on the cost of implementing VR medical training is somewhat complicated. For instance, when comparing the cost of a live hospital evacuation drill versus a virtual reality drill, VR has more expensive upfront costs. While the live drill cost the hospital about $230 per participant, the VR version cost $330. After a three-year period of repeating the drill, however, the cost per VR drill participant dropped to $115.
There are also major accessibility issues in regions or organizations with limited financial resources and existing technological infrastructures. These barriers may prevent healthcare facilities from gaining access to or utilizing VR programs.
Technical issues
The technical aspects of VR platforms face the same issues as other technologies, including hardware malfunctions and software glitches. These issues and outages may cause disruptions in training and therapy, which reduces the effectiveness of the technology. Organizations must ensure their systems are up to date, well-maintained, and compatible with the latest technologies.
The hardware components of VR systems, like headsets and gloves, also require repairs and replacements over time after inevitable wear and tear. More sophisticated systems demand even more robust technical support and upgrades.
Resistance to adoption
Medical staff and students already have a lot on their plates. Resistance to adopting VR in training and therapy is common in medical settings. Many professionals are simply set in their ways and traditional methods and are skeptical of new tech. The costs, effectiveness, and existing system integrations also contribute to hesitation.
To ease an organization into VR, stakeholders should provide comprehensive training and awareness programs about the technology. Addressing user concerns with hands-on experience and demonstrations of the technology’s practical applications through training facilitates broader acceptance and adoption of VR.
Future prospects of VR in medicine
The future of virtual reality technology and applications within the field of medicine is full of innovation and expansion.
Integration with AI
The integration of artificial intelligence with virtual reality in medical applications has tremendous potential. AI technology could enhance VR programs by creating even more adaptive and sophisticated simulations to improve the effectiveness and realism of training programs for students.
AI-powered simulations also offer the ability to tailor training programs to the specific needs of each student, along with individual performance evaluations and feedback. In medical therapy situations, VR promises the ability to predict and simulate complex medical scenarios to provide more in-depth and dynamic training experiences.
Expansion of VR curriculum
Expanding the use of virtual reality in medicine could eventually make it a standard part of training and education curriculums. Some academic institutions in the United States are already launching pilot programs to test the applicability of VR in their curriculums.
Stanford University’s pilot project is currently using VR to teach anatomy to medical students in Kenya. The university also built the Stanford Neurological Simulation and Virtual Reality Center to apply VR in neurosurgery clinics, operating rooms, and classrooms. These applications suggest a future in which virtual reality is an essential, integrated tool in medical education globally.
Conclusion
The highly immersive and interactive nature of virtual reality technology is already transforming medical training and therapies. This tech will only continue to expand in usability and use cases across the medical industry, enhancing the learning experience for students while improving patient outcomes. Despite the challenges of VR, like high costs, tech problems, and accessibility limits, ongoing research and pilot programs show positive results.
Artificial intelligence integrations and other future advancements will inevitably lead to a full revolution of medical education and therapies. A truly groundbreaking upgrade, the future of virtual reality in the medical field is virtually limitless.
FAQs
What is VR in Medical Training?
Virtual reality in medical training refers to the use of VR platforms and technologies to create immersive, interactive simulations. Professionals can use VR to practice procedures, hone their skills, and learn new ones in a risk-free environment.
How does VR improve medical training?
VR enhances and improves medical training by providing students with a totally risk-free environment in which they can practice and learn without consequence. VR platforms also provide real-time feedback to improve learning outcomes. For example, students can use VR to simulate an emergency room situation to practice their critical decision and communication skills.
What are the main challenges of using VR in medical training?
Cost, accessibility, and technical issues are the main challenges of utilizing VR tools in medical training applications. The hardware and software components of these systems are expensive, which limits the accessibility. Resistance to adoption is also a challenge. However, thorough training programs help mitigate this problem.
Can VR be used for therapy?
VR is a highly useful tool in therapy settings, including mental health, pain management, and physical rehabilitation. In mental health therapy, for instance, therapists use VR to immerse PTSD patients into their triggers to help them confront their fears in a totally safe and controlled situation.
What is the future of VR in medicine?
The future of VR in medicine will include further enhancements by integrating with new technologies like AI and even more personalized training opportunities for students. Medical education and ongoing research programs will eventually make VR a standard part of curriculums as well.
