Introduction
Augmented Reality (AR) has been making waves in various industries, including gaming, entertainment, and marketing. Recently, AR has been adopted in the healthcare industry as well, and it has shown to have a significant impact on patient care, medical education and training, and medical equipment development.
In this blog post, we will explore how AR is revolutionizing the healthcare industry, comparing the traditional healthcare system with AR-enabled healthcare. We will also provide some numbers to support our comparison for a better understanding of the impact of AR on the healthcare industry.
AR-enabled Patient Care
AR is now being implemented at medical institutions to enhance patient care. For example, AR applications can help doctors and nurses to better visualize the patient's anatomy and provide more accurate diagnoses. By overlaying AR-generated images onto a patient's body, medical professionals can easily identify issues that would have been difficult to spot without AR.
AR technologies can also help patients to better understand their medical conditions by displaying interactive images and diagrams. This improves patients' knowledge of their health and enables them to participate actively in their care.
According to a study by Transparency Market Research, the AR market in healthcare is projected to grow at a CAGR of 30.2% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026.
AR-enabled Medical Education and Training
AR is changing the way healthcare professionals are trained. Medical students can now gain practical experience in a simulated environment by applying AR to their training program. This enables them to understand and visualize complex medical procedures and processes, such as surgeries.
AR medical training can also help in accelerating the learning process and reducing costs. According to a study by the University of Maryland, the use of AR in medical training can replace the need for medical cadavers, which would save up to $50 million annually.
AR-enabled Medical Equipment
AR technologies can enhance the development of medical equipment that is more accurate, efficient, and user-friendly. Medical professionals can use AR to visualize medical equipment prototypes to better understand how they operate and how they can be improved.
AR can also help in the maintenance of medical equipment. By overlaying AR-generated images onto medical equipment, technicians can easily identify faults and perform repairs more quickly and efficiently.
Conclusion
The adoption of AR in healthcare is rapidly growing, and it is significantly revolutionizing the healthcare industry. AR-enabled patient care can improve medical professionals' accuracy and patients' health outcomes. AR-enabled medical education and training can accelerate the learning process and reduce training costs.
Finally, AR-enabled medical equipment development can lead to more accurate, efficient, and user-friendly medical equipment. With all these benefits, it's no wonder why the AR market in healthcare is projected to grow at a significant rate.
References
- Transparency Market Research. (2018). Augmented Reality in Healthcare Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2018-2026.
- University of Maryland. Augmented Reality and Medical Training.