What The Future Holds For Medicine
Technological progression of artificially simulated reality holds colossal potential in transforming our future in countless aspects. From healthcare, to business, to architectural wonders to manufacturing of products VR holds the key for a universe of endless possibilities that were only limited to imagination a short time ago.VR is being used to prepare med students for surgery – by letting them perform them through virtual reality glasses in a secure and controlled setting it is ideal to practice surgical procedures as they can be allowed to make wrong turns without the cost of the impact of them on actual patients, preparing the students for unanticipated situations. Doing what is called “hands-on” procedures in an interactive setup gives the space for the students to sharpen their handiness, which could later be applied to the actual world.
Medical professionals such as Psychologists are utilizing the advancement of Virtual Reality to intensify conventional therapy techniques and to figure out better solutions or cures for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and other widespread social disorders. Anxiety has become one of the more commonly diagnosed mental conditions. It is now being treated with a VR game named Deep – which actually is “a digital adaptation of the diaphragmatic or belly breathing exercise” it helps individuals to deal with their fear and attacks of anxiety by using a belt to monitor breathing – putting the person in to an innate setting, guiding them throughout for deep breathing trainings – making the user calm within five minutes
.In “Exposure Therapy” where a patient is recounted with their traumatic experiences through their imagination – and then are asked to elaborate to their doctor on what is going on and what they feel – PTSD patients will benefit largely – with a virtual reality headset to generate a practical world with customizable elements such as aircrafts, machine guns, dropping missiles to name a few. Autistic children and teenagers can be helped to learn social skills by placing them in designed social scenarios – blind dates, job interviews, shops or restaurants letting them get accustomed to social cues and responses.
Visiting your dentists will not be so dreaded anymore as they start using calming coastal scenes and such to distract the patients while easing their pain and anxiety by doing so. Not just in dentistry, “distraction therapy” via VR to assist patients to cope with pain as they undergo certain treatments is revolutionary. For an example, in physical therapy a study that was conducted in 2011 on burn victims proved that a VR game called SnowWorld –where you will throw snowballs at penguins had the ability to manage pain better than morphine.
