Emerging Technologies for Health and Medicine: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Robotics, Industry 4.0

By Dac-Nhuong Le and Gia Nhu Nguyen

With the current advances in technology innovation, the field of medicine and healthcare is rapidly expanding and, as a result, many different areas of human health diagnostics, treatment and care are emerging. Wireless technology is getting faster and 5G mobile

technology allows the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) to greatly improve patient care and more effectively prevent illness from developing. This book provides an overview and review of the current and anticipated changes in medicine and healthcare due to new technologies and faster communication between users and devices.

This groundbreaking book presents state-of-the-art chapters on many subjects including:

• A review of the implications of VR and AR healthcare applications
• A review of current augmenting dental care
• An overview of typical human-computer interaction (HCI) that can help inform the development of user interface designs and novel ways to evaluate human behavior to responses in virtual reality (VR) and other new technologies 
• A review of telemedicine technologies
• Building empathy in young children using augmented reality
• AI technologies for mobile health of stroke monitoring & rehabilitation robotics control
• Mobile doctor brain AI App
• An artificial intelligence mobile cloud computing tool
• Development of a robotic teaching aid for disabled children
• Training system design of lower limb rehabilitation robot based on virtual reality

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Oct 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781119509882

Book preview

Part I

VIRTUAL REALITY, AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH AND MEDICINE

CHAPTER 1

REVIEWS OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF VR/AR HEALTH CARE APPLICATIONS IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND SOCIETAL CHANGE

MUHAMMAD SHARIF1, GHULAM JILLANI ANSARI,1, MUSSARAT YASMIN1, STEVEN LAWRENCE FERNANDES2

1 Department of Computer Science, COMSATS University Islamabad, Wah Campus

2 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Sahyadri College of Engineering & Management, Mangaluru, India

Emails: [e-mail], [e-mail]

Abstract

Recently it has been observed that computer related applications are vigorously available to support training and learning of health care professionals being involved in diversified organizations to put into practice an impactful change in society. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are swiftly becoming progressively more available, accessible and most importantly within an individual reach. Thus, services and applications related to health care certainly improve the use of medical data. This will result in exploring new health care opportunities not only in the organizations but cover the whole society for auxiliary transformation and enhancement. Furthermore, combination of VR/AR technologies with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) will present powerful and mainly unexplored application areas that will revolutionize health care and medicine practice. Hence, the aim of this systematic review is to implicate to which extent VR/AR health care services and applications are presently used to genuinely support for organizational and societal change.

Keywords: Health Care, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Immersion, AI, IoT

1.1 Introduction

Advances in technology directly affect our lives and behaviors. On one hand, it enhances our learning abilities effectively when integrated with our curriculum to alleviate submissive experiences of lectures for large number of students in the class. On the other hand, it acts as a tool for students to gain knowledge in a meaningful environment [52]. Therefore, the goal is to create a powerful interactive learning environment for students where they can use their inborn capabilities of learning to clutch intricate notions and acquire knowledge through participation, observation and simulation [28]. The term student is taken generally in this chapter for medical students, doctors, and various types of medical professionals, medical trainers and all those who are directly or indirectly using health care services and applications in society or in any organization for learning and training purposes.

Simulation technology is now being increasingly used to improve the student’s learning abilities in a variety of domains like marketing, engineering, education and most importantly in health care which is one of the biggest adopters of VR/AR like simulated surgery, treatment of phobia, robotic based surgery, skill based training, dentistry and disabled treatment are some of the examples. It is generally recognized that VR and AR are in the forefront having strong potential to lead health care for impactful change in society [10]. Nowadays, this can be possible with the development and provision of multimedia information delivery tools such as apps, pod-casts, medical and educational software and screen casts which can be easily used on personal computers and mobile devices specifically on smart phones [30, 51]. In addition, numerous visualization technologies have been released such as Oculus Rift, Gear VR and Head Mounted Displays (HMD) to incorporate VR in giving intuitive feeling of actually being engrossed in the simulated world [21]. AR is also known as mixed reality that has lined a possibility to understand the concepts in a novel way which was not ever possible in the past.

VR and AR can be viewed in Figure 1.1. Although there is a very slight difference between both concepts which will be discussed later in the chapter, but today, AR (mixed reality) shown in Figure 1.2, supersedes VR because of the collaboration of real world and virtual objects rather than the whole computer generated virtual world. Therefore, VR is now being transformed into AR in the near future gradually. Taking the advantage, we schematically unfold rest of the chapter by briefly discussing VR/AR, their formats and design elements, relationship among presence, reality and realism in context with VR/AR, features of VR/AR technologies and in detail the implications of VR/AR applications related to enhance health care issues using AI and IoT for impactful change in the society and organization. To end this chapter, challenges and limitations of the technology along with conclusion are finally discussed.

Figure 1.1 (a) Example of Virtual Reality [10], (b) Example of Augmented Reality Training in Health care [4]

Figure 1.2 Relationship of Real and Virtual Environment (Augmented Reality or Mixed Reality) [15]

1.2 Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

The following section will explain VR/AR and how both differ from each other. Further, Table 1.1 will summarize standard terms and definitions related to the simulating environment.

Table 1.1 Standard terms in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

1.2.1 Virtual Realty

Virtual revolution has emerged to impart VR simulation technology for clinical and medical purposes since 1995. Although VR has been emerged since 1950s when Morton Heiling invented Sensorama which enabled users to watch television in three dimensional ways. Today, technology advances in the areas of power, image processing and acquisition, computer vision, graphics, speed, interface technology, HMD devices, a variety of software, body tracking, AI and IoT have given rise to build cost effective and functional VR applications capable of operating on mobile devices and/or on personal computers [61].

In context, VR states: It typically refers to use interactive simulations created by computer software and hardware to engage users with an opportunity in an environment that generates feelings similar to real world events and objects [71]. In another definition, VR is interpreted as: VR systems are deployed in the form of concert to perform sensory fantasy or illusion that construct more or less believable simulation of reality [12]. Comprehensively, VR can be defined as a way to replicate real life situations using immersive learning environment, high visualization and three dimensional characteristics by involving physical or other interfaces like motion sensors, haptic devices and head mounted display in addition to computer mouse, keyboard, voice and speech recognition. In general, the user interacts and feels that it is real world but the focus of interaction is digital environment [52].

Hence, VR systems have been widely applied in phobia, neuroscience, rehabilitation, disorders and different forms of therapeutic issues for students learning and health care to uplift the society in productive manners incorporating serious games and other techniques [14].

1.2.2 Augmented Reality or Mixed Reality

AR is a subset of VR (not a complete virtual reality) that overlays digitized computer generated information on objects, places and entities from real world for the purpose of enhancing the learning experience of user. Therefore, its ability to combine physical elements and virtual objects makes it popular in studying and implementing health care, medicine, fashion and several other fields since 2008 [11]. According to Moro, et al., 2017, AR is a form of VR in which a synthetic stimuli is super imposed on real world objects to enhance user learning experience with the help of head mounted display, wearable computers (displays projection onto humans and mannequins) and overlays of computer screen. The result of AR is to focus interaction in performing tasks within the real world instead of digital world.

In short, AR is a set of technologies which help to integrate digital and real. Although there are many flavors and versions of implementing AR but common among all are computers, displays, input devices (especially pointing device of any sort) and tracking mechanism. Merely, displays are required for the user to distinguish between realities and digitally supplied information. Pointing device (input device that must have GPS or some location based services for locating device and of course the user as well) like smart phones, wireless wrist bands etc. are needed to make sure that the digital information is appropriately placed or aligned with what the user is seeing (tracking). Finally computer software must exist to manage and run the application.

1.2.3 Line of Difference between VR/AR

The definitions above clarify that everything is virtual and digital or simulation of reality in VR whereas AR exhibits virtual learning experiences embedded in a physical context. It means AR is a process of overlaying computer generated information on any geographical place or object in reality for the sake of enhancing the understanding and experience of user [78].

1.2.4 Formats and Design Elements of VR/AR Technology

This section reflects general understanding about the available formats of VR/AR and which one is best accepted for health care. In addition, Table 1.2 summarizes the design elements for implementing VR/AR. The contents of Table 1.2 are taken from Lemheney et al.,