3 Ways Mixed Reality Is Changing Healthcare

You’ve heard of augmented reality and virtual reality, but what about mixed reality? This new form of interactive tech is actually a mixture of virtual reality and augmented reality to create a new way to interact with the world around us. Also known as “hybrid reality” and “extended reality,” MR has the potential to change just about every industry you can think of. Healthcare is no exception. Imagine a world where simple and complex medical procedures alike can be made easier and safer. That world is rapidly becoming reality—no pun intended. Let’s look at three ways mixed reality has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry.

VR has been used for years to let doctors realistically visualize a patient’s anatomy that would otherwise be impossible to see. MR now presents healthcare professionals with real-time data and visuals that can change procedures forever and for the better. MR glasses are being built that can display images and information on top of a patient’s body and even perform instant analysis of a patient’s condition. The day is almost here when doctors wearing MR glasses will be able to look at a patient and instantly know not just a patient’s vitals, but what the most likely diagnoses are.

Typically, medical students can learn to do surgery in two ways: observing a live surgery or by operating on a corpse. Well, now there’s a third option: operating on a corpse using mixed reality. By leveraging MR, medical students can operate on cadavers in an environment that replicates what it’s like to perform surgery on a live patient. With the implementation of half reality and half simulation, these mixed reality surgeries can respond to a student’s actions as if it were a real procedure. Students can now practice with realistic virtual procedures that don’t risk anyone’s life.

Surgeons can make use of mixed reality and carry out virtual procedures with more accuracy than ever. Mixed reality glasses or screens can project real-time information (such as blood pressure and heart rate), patient imaging and more. MR can even help doctors monitor vitals and changes in a patient’s condition better than they can with the naked eye. MR imaging also provides real-time 3D views of anatomy, giving surgeons more detail and helping them make better informed decisions during procedures. As this technology progresses over time, even some of the riskiest procedures may become routine with the benefits MR offers.

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