Emerging Technologies (Research Paper Sample)

Newer Uses of Virtual Reality in Healthcare Author Affiliation Course Instructor Due Date Newer Uses of Virtual Reality in Healthcare Virtual reality is a computer-generated 3D simulation that delivers a broad range of sensory information to the user enabling them to interact with object and characters in a virtual environment, making them feel like they are real (Bayram & Caliskan, 2020). VR uses of software to create an immersive simulated environment. VR entails the user putting on a head-mounted display (HMD) to become completely immersed in an interactive virtual environment in which one can engage with the characters and environment in a way that feels real (Pottle, 2019). In the education setting, VR is used in conjunction with appropriate educational software allowing the user to learn from experience in the virtual world. Compare to other technologies, VR is powerful in the sense that it makes uses believe they are in a different environment allowing them to learn from experience as they same way as in real life (Pottle, 2019). Therefore, nurse should have a good understanding of the new uses of virtual reality in healthcare. History of Virtual Reality The first mention of virtual reality was about a century and a half ago in the 1860s, with the appearance of 360-degree art via panoramic murals (Sutherland & La Russa, 2017). Compared to where VR technology has reached today, the description seems archaic. Simulators started appearing in the 1920s, particularly early vehicle simulators. Such simulators paved the way for more advance one that now include spacecraft simulators, golfing simulators, flight simulators, and simulation-based video gaming. Thomas A. Furness III developed the first visual flight simulator for the U.S. Air Force in 1966 (Sutherland & La Russa, 2017). Industries use VR systems in training, testing and operations (Iserson, 2018). Aviation and gaming lead other industries, including engineering, construction, transportation, military, and public safety (police and fire), in the adoption of virtual reality. Potential Improvements with Virtual Reality Health Training and Education Simulation is gaining popularity as method of delivering experimental learning due to the demand for clinically relevant and practical teaching that includes problem-based learning and communication skills training (Pottle, 2019). Benefits of VR in the training of healthcare professionals include being cost effective, safe, and engaging. VR technology enhances training on equipment, techniques, procedures, and patient interactions in more immersive and realistic environment (Baniasadi et al., 2020). In surgical training, VR decreases injury, increases the speed of operation, and improves overall outcomes (Pottle, 2019). VR platforms such as avant-garde surgery simulators are vital tools in surgical training. The platforms allow surgeons to see, feel, experience minimally invasive surgical pathways leading to improvements in both surgical precision and patient outcomes (Pulijala et al., 2018). Simulation of real word situation with a sense of touch for surgical practice occurs with the help of 3D visualization and haptic force feedback. The platforms get even better with the application of the latest HMD gear and technical improvements in AR/VR technologies. Compared to screen-based earning, immersive environment enables medical students to gain more knowledge (Pottle, 2019). Researchers are developing an immersive VR instructional content on cardiovascular resuscitation (CPR) and other live-saving procedures for both patients and medical professional education. The content will be available as apps for smartphones. Medical professionals and patients can view the medical VR models VR devices and as 3D through smartphones and desktop. 3D visualization offers anatomical representation to procedural planning and help in medical learning. While 3D scans of tumors and other cancerous growths exist, VR has the potential to provide greater details and interactivity (Bayram & Caliskan, 2020). VR simulated visualization enables the researchers to explore inside a tumor, point to every cell to understand what type of cell it is, what it is doing, and know what other cells it is communicating with and why. In regard to congenital defects, VR provides an immersive training experience for doctors. In the past, doctors relied on drawing representation of the defect, which often skewed from the real thing. Axelrod is a VR application uses the Stanford Virtual Heart to depict congenital heart defects in 3D and expose doctors to a more realistic version a congenital heart defect (Salavitabar et al., 2020). The VR program enables them to better explain the condition to patients. As much VR is an emerging technology, it is a physical simulation that should not replace clinical training but rather complement it. Care Coordination VR can enhance care coordination by improving effective communication. High-fidelity simulations aid healthcare professionals in developing communication skills (Albright et al, 2018). VR simulations simulation with speech allow students to cooperate and make accurate and rapid clinical decisions. Also, students improve their communication skills by communicating with virtual patients (Strekalova et al., 2018). VR can help students to learn how to welcome patients to the clinic, take patient history, communicate with other healthcare professionals, and implement the protocol/procedure for discharge. Patient Safety The use of VR in healthcare will increase patient safety and societal confidence in the medical field. The availability of VR procedural training will enable educators to abandon the traditional teaching paradigm of “see one, do one, teach one”. Practicing physician, residents, nurse practitioners, inexperienced students, and physician assistants will no more need to use living and dead patient or animals as teaching fodder (Iserson, 2018). Standard VR-based teaching protocols can minimize the likelihood of error and enhance experimental learning. Research indicates that students with nursing skills developed in virtual environments are likely to feel more comfortable and confidence, minimizing the harm that may result from interventions in real clinical settings (Bayram & Caliskan, 2020). Quality Improvement There are various applications of VR in clinical healthcare include pain management in burn patients, meditation for treatment of depression and anxiety, brain damage assessment and rehabilitation, management of phantom limb pain, social cognition training for young adults with autism, Alzheimer’s, and management of ADHD in children. For patients suffering from dementia or hallucinations, VR inn healthcare can help them temporarily reconnect with reality. VR helps a patient suffering from hallucinations distinguish between a hallucination and a reality. VR can promote calm and relaxation among patients. The technology produces similar outcomes to what meditation produces in other cognitive behavioral therapies. As such, it helps patients suffering from anxiety, depression, phobias, and other mental issues. VR can help relieve pain. Clinical research shows that VR programs can reduces pain in patients (Ding et al., 2020). Some programs teach patients on better pain management via breathing techniques and positive thinking. Doctors use VR for children undergoing surgeries and small procedures to reduce anxiety and stress. During specific part of the procedures, children immerse themselves in a game, where they remain focused on the game instead of paying attention rather than what the doctor id doing. Virtual reality (VR) has been part of mental health treatments since early 90s, particularly exposure therapy. The origin of exposure therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which involves repeated, direct confrontation with anxiety-triggering situation or stimulus. The aim of the exposure is for the individual to get used to the feared stimulus (Carl et al., 2019). An example of VR in exposure therapy is apoplectic fear of heights or flying. VR becomes the better option compare to in vivo exposure, as the latter would be very expensive and impractical. The success of VR in exposure therapy makes it the gold standard for most anxiety disorders. With VR, the more real the situation, the better the result. Cost Containment The use VR in medical training may ease the financial burden on the trainees (increased accrued debt on medical student loan during training and loss of professional-level income). Traditional residency and fellowship programs are very long particularly in specialties such as surgery and its subspecialties that are procedure-heavy (Iserson, 2018). VR technology can reduce the training duration needed to learn procedures. An economic analysis by Delshad et al. (2018) on VR therapy implementation in an inpatient pain management program indicated that the digital therapy can result in overall hospitalization cost-savings and health productivity. According to the investigators the range cot saving per patient ranged from $11.00 to $156,176. The findings from the study hoed that VR can pave way for savings in hospital expenditures and that further reductions are possible with increased patient acceptance and eligibility. Patient Engagement Commercially available VR platforms enable nurses to experience the effects of several conditions from the patient perspective. For example, Embodied Labs makes nurses “become” a 74-year-old man with hearing loss and macular degeneration (Washington & Shaw, 2019). In one of the scenarios, when nurses put on the headsets, their voices are muffled and difficult to understand. Participating nurses experience what is like to be Alfred and the struggles he goes through. The VR experience makes nurses experience some of the struggles they read in books and do not fully understand. ...