The healthcare industry stands to gain a lot from virtual reality. This technology lets doctors interact with patients in completely new ways. One hospital in California is experimenting with VR to detect tumors in young patients. A radical turn of events, albeit one that proves to be very useful in quick succession.
Detecting Tumors in Virtual Reality
Dealing with critically ill young patients is always challenging for doctors. There are many reasons why a child may feel ill at any given time. In some cases, the root cause cannot be discovered until it is too late. Solving that problem requires the use of innovative technologies, such as virtual reality.
Even when the actual cause can be determined, unforeseen consequences are never far away. One story documented by Up Matters shows how a lingering headache revealed not only a hemorrhage on the brain but also a tumor. It is not possible to see this tumor using regular technology, mainly due to its unusual location.
Operating on such a tumor is another major challenge. With limited visibility, surgeons are forced to take big risks. With the use of VR mapping, the surgeon had a 360-degree view of the patient’s brain. It also provided viable insights as to how the tumor was positioned and how it could be removed successfully. Additionally, this VR mapping helped the patient and his mother understand the issue and how it was going to be resolved.
In this particular case, one can safely say virtual reality saved a child’s life. If the tumor was not removed at that time, the patient would possibly not have seen his next birthday. Even so, these stories are an exception rather than the norm. Virtual reality is still in the early stages, as is its use in the healthcare industry. An interesting change looms on the horizon in this regard.
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