How Does Augmented Reality Disrupt The Healthcare Industry?

Key Takeaways

Here are some of the main augmented reality use cases in healthcare:

• Allows doctors to record video and audio while examining a patient
• Enables surgeons to get interactive augmented reality assistance during surgery
• Assists in vein visualization and streams ultrasound
• Allows for interactive printing and demos of how various drugs & devices affect the human body
• Adds value to enhance doctors’ performance

Augmented reality’s potential offers vast opportunities for doctors to be able to work more efficiently. Its applications range from increasing surgery success rates to simplifying complex surgical operations, help patients recover and much more.

And the market for these innovations is already here as the global augmented and virtual reality size is estimated to grow to $5.1 billion by 2025.

Augmented Reality In Healthcare – The Innovation Map

Take a look at our Innovation Map below to discover some of the most promising application areas and use cases of augmented reality in healthcare:

 

Real-Time Analytics & Display Of Results

The healthcare industry is a heavy user of complex AR solutions that require processing power and real-time calculations. One well-known example is a product developed by Augmedix, which allows doctors to record audio and video while examining the patient using Google Glass. The content is then transcribed by low-cost workers so that the doctor can focus on getting valuable insights from the patient and not having to worry about taking notes at the same time.

Another exemplary product is the remote video support platform by Help Lightning (former Vipaar). This AR coupled device enables inexperienced surgeons to get interactive assistance during the surgery. Skilled professionals are able to show medical staff in training how surgical procedures should be carried out with the help of augmented hands that are projected on a patient’s body in real-time.

The list of augmented reality solutions is long and includes anything from vein visualization technology, which uses a scanner to project near-infrared light on a patient’s body to reveal precise vein location to a solution that streams real-time ultrasound imaging to a doctor’s headset, so as not to get distracted during the examination.

Interactive Printing & Packaging

Augmented reality in healthcare has a distinguished way to positively affect the B2B sales of pharmaceutical companies by using interactive printing and demos of how various drugs and devices affect the human body and its organs.

An example of this is Xiapex, a UK company that, in partnership with BlippAR, effectively applies AR to facilitate the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture syndrome.

Heat Map: Augmented Reality Startups Disrupting Healthcare

The Heat Map below highlights the global distribution of startups developing augmented reality solutions for the healthcare sector. The United States and the United Kingdom take the lead, with Central Europe and India not far behind.

 

Startups Disrupting The Healthcare Industry Include:

• Help Lightning (former Vipaar) – Develop an AR-powered video support platform that allows for a more detailed interaction between two specialists. The startup’s solution is used during medical procedures as well as to train new staff.
• AccuVein – Develops a device that allows to quickly find veins on a patient’s body, easing the injection process.
• Augmedix – Develops a solution which allows doctors to spend less time on clerical work through outsourcing it to a transcriber by recording patient examinations with an AR headset.
• Augmentarium VR & AR Laboratory – This laboratory at the University of Maryland experiments with the assembly of projection displays, AR visors, and other components of virtual and augmented reality solutions. One of their products empowers physicians to monitor ultrasound imaging, while actually examining the patient and not having to regularly glance at a large screen.

Healthcare organizations show signs of swift AR adoptions, creating extra value for doctors, patients, pharmaceuticals and other stakeholders. Augmented reality helps medics to be more successful in carrying out complex surgeries, performing patient examinations, getting advice from more senior personnel and much more.

In an industry where every second counts, it’s important that professionals have access to all the tools and data they need to ensure that their patient makes it through alive and healthy.

At StartUs Insights, we constantly monitor developments in the healthcare sector to share actionable insights into emerging technologies and companies. Get ahead of your competition and keep up with bleeding edge technologies!