how virtual reality is transforming healthcare for the better

Having trouble learning a tricky surgical procedure, but there’s no expert available? No problem – thanks to virtual reality you can practise an operation before you get anywhere near the operating table, or even brush up on human anatomy. VR is already revolutionising healthcare, and there’s only more to come. Doctors and nurses in countries around the world can get training that might not otherwise be available to them thanks to the arrival of cheap VR headsets. For those that can’t attend an operation to see a surgeon in action, this training can be vital. However, it’s not just professionals who are benefitting, as patients are getting entirely new treatment options thanks to VR. Virtual therapy can help amputees overcome phantom limb pain from a missing arm or leg, letting them control a virtual version of the limb. Playing simple games in VR, meanwhile, can help people perform physical therapy exercises during rehabilitation after an accident or injury. If you have a debilitating phobia, VR treatment can be used to slowly ease you into facing your fear, such as overcoming a terror of heights or spiders. VR can also be used to help autistic people, encouraging a calming effect as they interact with virtual people or animals rather than toys. One interesting application is that VR can be used to design better hospital layouts, helping patients find where they need to go without relying on staff to step away and take them. It can also be used to help people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), taking them back to a harrowing experience and easing them into the realities of what happened. And let’s not forget that VR offers a novel way for patients just to relax and have fun in hospital when recovering.

“Thanks to VR surgeons can practise tricky procedures”