Aug. 12, 2022 — The metaverse, which some people are referring to as the next generation of the internet, is an unusual digital setting where you may be an avatar travelling across places created by computers and interacting with people in real time. The limitations of our physical, material world and travel patterns disappear in this area. And fresh chances and difficulties present themselves.
Residents at the University of Connecticut Health in Farmington were the first to use virtual reality headsets, giving medical students their first taste of what life would be like in such a futuristic setting.
According to Olga Solovyova, MD, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at UConn Health, the COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented halt to most orthopaedic surgeries.
By donning goggles, residents may now view their avatars—digital representations of themselves—in a virtual operating room that includes a table, tools, and a patient. When they saw or drill a bone, they feel resistance, and when they totally cut through, they feel pressure diminish. They operate the equipment with controls.
They can also remove virtual layers of skin and muscle in virtual reality to see the underlying bone more clearly. Training materials provide feedback on how successfully pupils perform tasks and keep track of their development.
Prepare FOR Headset
According to Solovyova, “the classic approach was always the ‘see one; do one; teach one’ philosophy, with watching coming first, followed by practising, and then teaching others.” Residents can practise regularly on their own in a secure setting with qualified instructors now.
According to Solovyova, it also enables patients to practise uncommon surgeries that might not be necessary on actual patients.
She claims that other surgical residency programmes in the United States are beginning to offer more instruction in virtual spaces like the metaverse.
Some elements of the metaverse, a concept that is only now starting to enter talks, are already in existence. Examples include 3D printing, telemedicine, and virtual reality training.
When Facebook said last year that it will become Meta, there was a wave of interest in the idea. Although definitions vary, the metaverse is fundamentally the area where virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (where unrelated devices communicate with one another), quantum computing, and many other technologies come together to bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds.
What is the Meta?
By 2026, 25% of people worldwide would spend at least an hour every day in the metaverse, whether for work, commerce, education, or leisure, according to a forecast by industry trends analyst Gartner.
People can also keep an eye on their vital signs and provide their doctor with up-to-date information thanks to wearable technology. Electronic health records will probably become living documents in the metaverse, Barry Issenberg, MD, the director of the Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Education at the University of Miami, says. These documents will be updated from sensors in clothing or furniture, on phone apps, or on wearable technology.
Doctors will have access to a large portion of the picture in uploaded data rather than patients travelling to their offices to be seen and have test results evaluated.
He claims it will help solve a common issue that doctors’ appointments have grown tense due to them using electronic health records as a distraction when they type information into templates.
Additionally, doctors can establish limits for irregularities so that they are alerted if a patient’s blood pressure exceeds a certain level or if they exhibit aberrant walking patterns. This enables more proactive, preventative care.
People may be more involved in their own care because they will also receive the information in real time, according to Issenberg.