Since Mark Zuckerberg announced his intention to promote the Metaverse, a digital environment that people can access as avatarsthe concept has become increasingly fashionable and experts extol all the possibilities offered by this world in which you can interact through devices such as virtual reality glasses and other accessories.
The field of Medicine is no stranger to the potential of this digital universe. “Virtual and augmented reality has been around for a long time. offering possibilities of use within the health and care. Powered by 5G mobile access and the Metaverse concept, its possibilities are multiplied by allowing its use with greater agility, speed and realistic immersion sensation“, he explained to Medical Writing Pedro Cano, expert doctor in Digital Health.
For his part, Francisco Sendra, a radiologist and professor at the University of Malaga, considers that the Metaverse will offer Medicine a development of the current possibilities of the Internet: “For example, a virtual hospital in the Metaverse that reproduces a real hospital can allow users to know exactly where they are located and what the different services, consultations and units look like, prior to an actual visit. you can enter a room and get information about a procedure or select to see how it is done and what prerequisites need to be considered.
“The Metaverse can be an interesting market for Medicine”
Cano has affirmed that “without a doubt” the Metaverse is an interesting market for Medicine. “It should be analyzed and considered as one more channel of communication and doctor-patient interaction“, he explained and detailed that the cost-benefit should be evaluated compared to other current systems.
For now, according to the Digital Health expert, it seems that the Metaverse is more “an element to advertise the products and services of hospitals, private clinics, pharmacies, universities, pharmaceutical companies and all kinds of health companies.”
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Virtual reality will allow the simulation of operations and the treatment of phobias |
However, he has maintained that it opens up a world of possibilities for medical professionals. As he explained to this newspaper, the most clinical and healthcare uses will go hand in hand with virtual and augmented reality: “From the superimposition of relevant information about a patient or the simulation of medical operations, to its use in schools of patients in chronic diseases”.
It has also evaluated other applications such as the treatment of phobiasphysical rehabilitation, assessment of brain injuries and neurorehabilitation“, as well as to train students and medical personnel. Sendra, who has been using the Metaverse in his teaching for more than ten years, has agreed on this point.
The Metaverse, key to the training of medical students
“Our experience since 2011 covers more than 3,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. We have verified that activities similar to those carried out in the classroom can be carried out successfully, such as courses, workshops, teamwork; in scenarios that are more attractive than the 2D format”, the Radiology professional told Medical Writing.
Mainly, it has highlighted the possibility offered by the Metaverse of use scenarios that would be “excessively costly” in actual practice. Furthermore, committed to this type of teaching, Sendra has been playing a radiology learning game called ‘League of Rays’ for seven consecutive years.
It is a competition in which, over six weeks, participating students go on demand to the island where it takes place to read content and solve tasks. “In the last three years, 468 students from more than 20 different medical schools have completed the game, which has been a very interesting experience that we are currently evaluating,” he detailed.
The Future of Medicine in the Metaverse
Both Sendra and Cano have highly valued the future possibilities of Medicine in the Metaverse. The teacher, for his part, has influenced the training opportunities that it can offer, such as “the simulation of clinical situations, in which users have to interact in a medical scenarioeven with a simulated patient, represented by his avatar”.
Both have agreed that it will not replace the role of doctors, although will expand some, such as communication or access to therapies and trainingas well as increase the possibilities of self-care remotely for patients and people living with chronic diseases.
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At the University of Malaga they have been using the Metaverse for the training of Medicine students since 2011 |
As the Public Health expert has explained: “The Metaverse allows provide a virtual space and applications that facilitate interaction through an avatar with patientswithout any risk to health and without the need for the person to have to go to the consultation or the medical center”.
Finally, Cano has clarified that there are still quite a few obstacles, such as people’s attitude towards online treatments or unequal access to the virtual reality elements, which currently have a fairly high price, to which Sendra has added the need to manage the privacy of patients in the digital environment.
Although it may contain statements, data or notes from health institutions or professionals, the information contained in Medical Writing is edited and prepared by journalists. We recommend the reader that any questions related to health be consulted with a health professional.