The Evolution of Medical Technology in the Metaverse

The term “Metaverse” originates from science fiction, particularly from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel “Snow Crash,” which referred to a virtual reality-based successor to the internet. A year before that, in 1991 in his novel “True Names”, Prof. Vernor Vinge, an American mathematician and computer expert, described a virtual realm accessible via a brain-computer interface, delivering an authentic sensory experience akin to the physical world. The metaverse is essentially a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space.

In simpler terms, it’s a fully immersive digital world where people can interact with each other and digital objects in real time. Think of the book/movie “Ready Player One,” where the entire humanity is enjoying the simulation of virtual life – OASIS – with the help of VR visors and haptic gloves.

The metaverse is a developing virtual environment that brings together various technologies. This includes artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, internet tech, blockchain, and digital twin technology. It’s not just about experiencing a digital world; it’s about socializing, working, playing, and conducting business within that digital realm.

While Ready Player One is about a world of 2045 (isn’t so far away, is it?), let’s talk about the metaverse technologies impacting the healthcare industry. Here are a few basic implementations to get us started:

• Remote consultations & therapy sessions
• Medical hands-on training simulations and experiences
• Pain management
• Exposure therapy
• Rehabilitation exercises

The metaverse blurs the lines between the digital and physical realities. As a result, it creates opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and interaction across industries.

State of Medical Technology in the Metaverse

Let’s consider the statistics of the metaverse in the healthcare market:

Market revenue in 2023	$9.5 billion
Projected revenue by 2028	$79.6 billion
Revenue rate	The CAGR forecast is 52.9%
Market driver	The growing utilization of mixed reality in conducting minimally invasive surgeries.
Market opportunities	Greater integration of the metaverse into medical education and training.

As we see from the statistics above, the rate at which the revenue is projected to grow is quite exponential and there are already healthcare institutions and major hospitals that are using the metaverse for medical purposes.

Existing Medical Metaverse Examples

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins has been at the forefront of utilizing immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for various medical applications, including surgical planning, patient education, and therapy.

Cleveland Clinic

The Cleveland Clinic has integrated virtual reality into its medical training programs, allowing students and healthcare professionals to engage in realistic simulations of surgical procedures and patient care scenarios.

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic has been exploring the use of augmented reality to assist surgeons during complex procedures, providing real-time guidance and visualization of critical anatomical structures.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)

MGH has implemented virtual reality platforms for pain management therapies and psychological interventions, offering patients immersive experiences to alleviate discomfort and stress.

Stanford Medicine

Stanford has developed immersive technologies for medical education, leveraging virtual reality simulations to enhance learning experiences for students and improve their understanding of complex medical concepts and procedures. Another way of using AR/VR is helping patients get over the debilitating mental health issues.

Challenges and Opportunities of Metaverse

Developers encountering the integration of medical technology within the metaverse face several significant challenges, particularly concerning privacy concerns and data security. Here’s a deeper exploration of these challenges:

Future Trends and Predictions

The quality of medical care is an important factor in ensuring that our world survives. It involves both physical and mental health and provides sustainability for human development.

Several technologies play a critical role in crafting the healthcare metaverse in such a way that tackles the challenges above:

Digital Twins

In healthcare, a digital twin can represent different things, but it often focuses on a patient or a specific organ. Here’s a narrower explanation:

• Patient Focus: A digital twin can be a virtual model of a patient that incorporates their medical history, genetic data, wearable sensor data (like heart rate or activity levels), and other relevant information. This comprehensive picture allows doctors to:
  • Personalize care: Tailor treatment plans based on the individual’s unique biology and response to medications.
  • Predict health risks: Identify potential health problems before they arise and take preventive measures.
• Organ Focus: A digital twin can also represent a specific organ, like a heart or liver. This virtual organ would be based on medical scans, patient data, and real-time sensor information (if applicable). Doctors could use this to:
  • Simulate procedures: Plan and test surgeries or other interventions virtually before performing them on a real patient.
  • Optimize treatment: See how different medications or therapies would affect the virtual organ, helping choose the most effective course of action.

Digital twins in healthcare are about creating virtual representations that improve our understanding of individual patients and organs, leading to more personalized and effective care.

Check out our article on personalized medicine approaches.

Blockchain

We’ve talked about data security and privacy and protocols above. Metaverse is literally data in a visual form and it’s information about virtual objects’ parameters, users’ personal information, and general metaverse files, among a multitude of other things. One of the technologies that help in this case is blockchain.

Blockchain is a chain storage structure that stores data in blocks (hence the word “block-chain”) and connects each block in chronological order, which ensures the correct track of the information and its ownership.

Blockchain offers several advantages for the healthcare industry, particularly in areas of data security, privacy, and accessibility.

Here’s how blockchain can be helpful:

• Secure Data Storage: Blockchain’s decentralized nature makes it resistant to hacking. Medical records stored on a blockchain ledger would be encrypted and distributed across a network of computers, making them much harder to tamper with compared to a traditional centralized database.
• Improved Data Sharing: Patients can control who has access to their medical data on a blockchain. This allows for secure and transparent sharing of information between authorized healthcare providers, streamlining care coordination and eliminating the need for patients to carry around copies of their records.
• Enhanced Transparency: Every change made to a patient’s data on a blockchain is logged and can’t be altered. This creates a clear audit trail, fostering trust and accountability within the healthcare system.
• Supply Chain Management: Blockchain can track the movement of medications, medical devices, and other supplies. This can help prevent counterfeit drugs from entering the system and ensure the quality and origin of products.
• Clinical Trials: Blockchain can be used to securely manage and track data from clinical trials. This can improve the accuracy and efficiency of trials, leading to faster development of new treatments.

There are also challenges to consider. Integrating blockchain technology into existing healthcare systems can be complex and make the system cumbersome as a result. Additionally, ensuring clear regulations and data ownership standards is crucial for widespread adoption.

However, blockchain has the potential to significantly improve the security, privacy, and efficiency of healthcare data management. As the technology matures and regulations evolve, we can expect to see more widespread use of blockchain in healthcare.

Expanded Reality

Expanded or Extended Reality (also known as XR) is a combination of various realities including

• Virtual Reality (VR) usually requires a headset and additional wearable equipment and provides an immersive experience but it isn’t linked to physical reality.
• Augmented Reality (AR) usually uses devices such as phones or tablets with a camera to integrate virtual objects into the real world.
• Mixed Reality (MR) adds interactive features to the AR like rotating objects to view them from different angles.

These three technologies are widely used in surgery to evaluate complex cases and design immersive surgical training procedures. MRI and X-ray are great diagnostic tools but they provide only an image that you can look at while extended reality can give the doctors an option to go inside the picture before they do it to the patient.

Imagine a future where…

Imagine a future where healthcare breaks free from physical limitations. The metaverse, a blooming digital space, is poised to revolutionize medicine with a blend of cutting-edge technologies. Here’s a glimpse of its transformative potential:

• Teleporting care: Distance won’t be a barrier. Doctors could hold immersive consultations and even perform virtual surgeries using advanced VR tools. Imagine a specialist in another country guiding a local surgeon through a complex procedure in real time!
• Revolutionizing training: Aspiring doctors can hone their skills in hyper-realistic simulations. Imagine practicing intricate surgeries on virtual patients in a safe, controlled environment before ever stepping into an operating room.
• Boosting mental health: The metaverse can create powerful therapeutic experiences. People with phobias could confront their fears in virtual environments, while others could find solace in supportive online communities.
• Personalized medicine: Digital twins, virtual replicas of patients, can be used to predict health risks and tailor treatments. Imagine a doctor using your digital twin to see how different medications would affect you before prescribing anything.
• Empowering patients: The metaverse can be a treasure trove of educational resources. Patients could access interactive guides on their conditions and participate in virtual support groups, becoming active participants in their own healthcare journey.

Of course, challenges like privacy and accessibility need to be addressed. But the potential of the metaverse to transform healthcare is undeniable. It’s a future where location melts away, replaced by a world of accessible, personalized, and immersive medical care.