Harness the Power of Augmented Reality in Healthcare: What You Need to Know!

What is Augmented Reality (AR) in Healthcare?

Augmented Reality (AR) in healthcare is a cutting-edge technology that overlays digital information, like 3D images or data, onto the real world. 

This innovation aids in precise diagnoses by overlaying critical imaging data onto the patient’s body. It also helps patients understand their conditions through interactive visual explanations and educates them by visually explaining their medical conditions and treatment plans.

AR streamlines medical workflows, making healthcare more interactive and effective, leading to improved patient outcomes. The key components of AR include:

• Integration of AR and VR (Virtual Reality): Merging these technologies enhances simulations and real-world applications.
• Real-time Object Integration: Seamlessly merging digital objects with the physical environment in real time.
• 3D Registration: Aligning virtual medical images with the real-world patient’s anatomy to ensure accurate overlays and interactions.

As AR technology evolves, so does the possibility that augmented reality will completely transform healthcare and pave the way for a time when technology and medicine collaborate to provide better care. Get in touch with healthcare app developers to get started with your dream project. 

Augmented Reality (AR) Trends in Healthcare

Below we’ve listed Augmented Reality (AR) trends in healthcare. Let’s learn:

1. Robotic-Assisted Surgery (RAS)

Robotic aid during surgery helps surgeons visualize complex procedures more accurately. The complex interface that results from combining RAS and AR enhances the user experience.

Furthermore, it facilitates doctors' prompt and informed decision-making. Robotic liver resections, intra-operative robotic ultrasound applications, robotic hepatic surgery, and other RAS disciplines will revolutionize.

2. Advanced Wound Care Management

Unlike traditional procedures, augmented reality (AR) provides non-invasive wound parameter monitoring by providing visual feedback on wound care management. 

Moreover, it facilitates medical professionals' recommendations of suitable actions and ensuing therapies and allows nurses to dress wounds appropriately.  

3. Interactive Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation

When augmented reality (AR) is used to provide interactive exercises with real-time feedback, patients can recover more quickly from physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Utilizing augmented reality (AR) to walk patients through physical therapy exercises at home tracks patients' motions and provides remedial feedback to ensure appropriate technique and progress.

4. Real-Time Patient Rounds Assistance

Augmented reality (AR) can enhance face-to-face patient rounds by overlaying critical patient data over the healthcare provider's field of vision. It works as a time-saver for doctors, allowing them to retrieve patient charts from the EMR system. 

Interactive AR charts and AR glasses offer freedom from documentation. Doctors save time when they diagnose patients and make well-informed suggestions. 

5. Seamless Hospital Navigation Solutions

Augmented reality applications help patients and visitors navigate large hospital facilities more easily. 

An augmented reality app that guides users throughout the hospital using direction-based arrows and location-based data will enhance the overall patient experience and reduce navigation-related anxiety. 

Real-life Applications of AR in Healthcare

Below we’ve discussed real-life applications of AR in healthcare. Let’s check:

1. Surgery Visualization & Assistance

Augmented Reality (AR) helps surgeons by superimposing vital information, like real-time imaging data and 3D anatomical models, directly onto the surgery field. This improves accuracy and lowers dangers when doing intricate treatments. 

For instance, the Royal London Hospital team uses AR in neurosurgery to improve the accuracy of brain surgeries. 

By superimposing MRI and CT scan data directly onto the patient's skull, surgeons may precisely locate tumors and blood arteries with the help of AR devices. 

2. Patient Care & Rehabilitation

AR offers interactive and real-time feedback during physical therapy exercises. It enhances patient care and rehabilitation.

For instance, augmented reality (AR) can help physicians during real-time spine surgery by displaying the exact location of the specific movements and surgical instruments.

3. Vein Visualization

Many patients experience pain and are scared of intravenous injections or blood draws. With the help of AR, healthcare providers can locate veins to collect blood, reducing injection failure and improving patient comfort. 

4. Medical Imaging

Augmented reality enhances medical imaging by overlaying 3D models and imaging data on the patient's body. This allows for an improved view of the inner structure during diagnosis and therapeutic planning. 

For example, AR can overlay MRI or CT scan results on a patient's body to help doctors more accurately pinpoint specific problem areas. 

5. Symptom Detection

Some patients struggle to explain their symptoms or conditions to medical professionals, which can lead to inaccurate information and the wrong treatment. 

To avoid this situation, AR allows doctors to detect and interpret indications better, which helps them recognize problems. 

AR, for instance, can be used in dermatology to overlay diagnostic information on skin blemishes, helping medical practitioners to identify conditions like melanoma more precisely. 

6. Patient Self-Care

AR-enabled software solutions for the healthcare industry can help patients better manage their health. People can optimize their movements and restore physical fitness with interactive and visual guidance for self-care tasks. 

This ensures that patients perform these tasks accurately and confidently, improving adherence to treatment plans and potentially improving health outcomes. 

A few popular AR self-care applications are: 

• Know My Heart: Patients may detect potential atrial fibrillation (AF) by checking their pulse.
• Know My Beat: Educate patients diagnosed with AF to become aware of their health condition so they can follow prescribed medication and seek medical assistance. 

What are the Benefits of AR in Healthcare?

AR in custom healthcare app development offers several advantages that enhance productivity and efficiency. Let’s learn:

1. Enhanced Surgical Precision

Augmented reality (AR) enhances surgical precision by superimposing real-time overlays of vital information, anatomical guides, and imaging results directly within the surgeon's field of view. 

This technology facilitates less invasive operations, enhancing precision and minimizing patients' recovery time. 

Example: 

Laparoscopic surgery (aka invasive surgery) requires small incisions and a camera to operate on internal organs. 

AR assists surgeons with real-time information about a patient’s anatomy, including the location of tumors, organs, and blood vessels. It provides a 3D image of anatomy, assisting surgeons in navigating with greater accuracy. 

2. Improved Medical Training and Education

AR and VR are revolutionizing medical education and training with their realistic surgical simulations and 3-D reconstructions of human anatomy.

Using this hands-on approach, medical students can improve their understanding of complex structures and refine their skills in a secure environment. 

Example: 

AR technology is effective and less invasive during spine surgeries. This is possible because AR and VR technology can show the location of the problem through the skin as well as the anatomy of the spine. 

3. Patient Education and Engagement

With AR technology, doctors can now give patients more engaging, visual explanations of medical conditions and treatments.

It also helps patients comprehend medical procedures and treatment plans. Rehabilitation becomes more effective and engaging when interactive exercises and real-time feedback are used.  

Example:

With AR, doctors can project a 3-D model of a patient’s heart to show blockages. It allows patients to understand their condition and learn about surgical procedures more effectively. 

4. Enhanced Telemedicine

Augmented reality facilitates more effective communication between medical professionals and patients. 

Also, it enhances telemedicine by providing virtual support for at-home treatments and facilitating comprehensive remote exams. 

This technology improves remote care by giving patients more accurate assessments and detailed instructions. The application of AR in telemedicine has made it easier to diagnose patients and recommend the best course of treatment. 

Example:

Using an augmented reality program, a doctor can guide a patient or a nearby healthcare provider through a physical checkup. The doctor can project instructions and anatomical diagrams onto the patient's body using AR glasses or their smartphone. 

By carefully instructing the patient on where to lay a stethoscope or how to make specific motions for a musculoskeletal assessment, the doctor can perform an accurate and thorough examination without the patient having to attend the clinic physically.

5. Streamlined Workflow & Collaboration

With AR, healthcare teams may collaborate more effectively by exchanging and interacting with visual data in real time. Moreover, it improves workflow accuracy and efficiency by streamlining documentation procedures and enabling healthcare personnel to enter and retrieve data hands-free.  

Example:

A surgical team can use AR headsets to review the same 3D model of the patient's anatomy superimposed onto the surgical site during a challenging procedure. It helps the team coordinate their actions more effectively, improving communication and reducing errors.

What are the Challenges of Implementing AR in Healthcare?

Following, we’ve discussed several challenges of implementing AR in healthcare. Let’s discuss in detail:

1. High Cost

Significant financial investments are required for fitness app development, software, and maintenance of augmented reality systems. Even if augmented reality aims to provide everyone with access to healthcare services, the technology is highly expensive.

Healthcare providers with limited budgets may find adopting augmented reality tools and technologies challenging. A major obstacle to the widespread adoption of AR products is the expense of training staff members to use them effectively.

Furthermore, due to a lack of funding, it's becoming more difficult for IT companies building AR apps and headgear to reach a larger audience. 

2.Technical Limitations

AR technology is still in its infancy and faces several challenges and technological limitations. These include low-contrast images, a small field of vision, the position or depth of the anatomy, latency issues, resolution restrictions, and more. 

When merged with the existing healthcare systems, these limitations negatively impact accuracy and effectiveness, leading to a more complex and time-consuming process. 

3. Ethical & Legal Considerations

AR healthcare applications and devices need to follow a strict set of legal and ethical rules. Also, Setting clear guidelines and standards for using AR in healthcare settings is crucial to ensuring patient security and safety. 

It's also important to discuss the legal repercussions of malpractice and who is responsible for errors committed when using AR equipment. 

4. Data Privacy & Security

Augmented reality apps often access private patient information in the healthcare industry, raising serious privacy and data security issues.

It is crucial to ensure that sensitive data complies with regulations like HIPAA and protects from online attacks.

The potential for data breaches or unauthorized access to patient information might have serious legal and financial repercussions for healthcare organizations and damage public trust in augmented reality technologies.

Top 3 Real-life Examples of AR in Medicine & Healthcare 

Here we’ve  discussed top real-life examples of AR in healthcare and medicine:

1. Case Western Reserve University: AR in Medical Training

Case Western Reserve University employs AR for medical training through the HoloAnatomy app by allowing them to interact with 3D human body models. 

In contrast to traditional methods, this technology provides a better understanding of anatomy and aids in students' effective and engaging perception of complex structures.

2. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: AR for Prostate Cancer Surgery

At Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, AR is integrated with robotic surgery for prostate cancer treatment. 

With AR technology, surgeons can now see accurate images of the prostate and surrounding tissues. This makes it possible to remove cancerous tissue efficiently, protect vital structures, and hasten patient recovery. 

3. John Hopkins University: Microsoft HoloLens in Spinal Surgery

Spine surgery at Johns Hopkins University and other institutions is performed by surgeons using the Microsoft HoloLens AR headset. 

Using a 3D holographic representation of the patient's spinal anatomy, the headset projects important features onto the operating site in real time, minimizing risk and increasing accuracy. 

Partner With Apptunix to Transform Your Healthcare App With Augmented Reality

Partnering with Apptunix, a top-notch healthcare app development company with a track record of successfully incorporating cutting-edge technologies, will help your healthcare app reach new heights.

Our Augmented Reality (AR) proficiency can revolutionize your application, offering patients and healthcare providers engaging and dynamic experiences. 

At Apptunix, our brilliant team of engineers and designers collaborates with you to create AR solutions specific to your needs. Whether your objective is to improve medical education, accelerate patient consultations, or expand telemedicine, our AR-integrated apps offer improved performance and user experience. Get in touch with us today!