Virtual Reality Could be a Game-Changer for Post-COVID Medical Research: Here’s How

Medical research has high societal value. Researchers worldwide conduct medical studies and clinical trials to provide critical information about disease trends, treatment outcomes, risk factors, essential public health interventions, care patterns, and healthcare costs. They employ various approaches to facilitate the health sector with complementary insights.

 

Unfortunately, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many research institutions’ clinic trials, forcing them to suspend most of their studies. However, virtual reality has become a promising option to resume research practices among the global research community.

 

VR (Virtual Reality) has the potential to transform medical research by successfully rebooting various studies. It’s a resilient and flexible way to gather evidence, test hypotheses, and develop innovative technologies and solutions to promote better global health.

 

Fortunately, some of the leading virtual and augmented reality agencies now facilitate businesses from all sectors by providing top-notch augmented reality app development services to enhance user experience.

 

 Here’s how VR can be a game-changer for post-COVID medical research.

VR as Medical Intervention

Despite the lack of VR’s broad usage in medical research, history indicates various occasions where VR has been useful in healthcare. Many healthcare specialists employed VR training simulations as a part of protocol development and dissemination during the COVID-19 pandemic. It successfully facilitated long-distance consultation and treatment, especially for senior citizens.

 

Similarly, VR has been historically effective as a medical intervention for psychotherapy and pain management. Today, many doctors still use exposure therapy to help patients manage their traumas and phobias by exposing them to things they fear the most.

VR-based Medical Research

While medical research primarily requires in-person interaction through trials and interventions, many research institutions provide researchers with VR equipment to conduct clinical studies, especially when they involve visiting participants’ houses. For instance, researchers used VR headsets to study patients with Parkinson’s disease and proposed interventions accordingly.

 

Moreover, many medical schools allow students to participate and collaborate in virtual anatomy classes by sending them VR equipment.

Mass Transition to Telehealth

The COVID-induced lockdowns forced people from almost every industry to switch to virtual spaces to conduct business operations, hold meetings, and even make online medical visits. It’s safe to say that the pandemic paved the way for medical workers’ mass transition to telehealth, a decade-old practice only used by specific groups.

 

The FDA issued guidance for clinical trial regulators to shift from physical medical centers to digital spaces. Consequently, this transition led to the emergence of virtual clinic trials through telemedicine.

 

Many researchers realized how expanding telehealth beyond teleconferencing could open doors to an even extraordinary array of virtual tests and measurements.

 

Looking for AR/VR solutions for your healthcare facility? The augmented reality developers at Elementals Studio provide multiple immersive and interactive AR features and tools to facilitate your medical studies by helping you visualize products at a natural scale. Connect with them to learn more today!