Virtual Reality in Medical Training: From Simulation to Surgery

Historically speaking, of all the industries out there, healthcare has been the one industry that has been very slow in adopting new technologies. According to Gartner’s 2023 Healthcare IT Spending Report, health IT spending in the U.S. is expected to grow by 5.6% annually from 2023 to 2026. However, this growth is slower compared to other sectors such as finance and retail, which are experiencing more rapid technology adoption and investment. With the lives of millions in hand, the industry cannot take any chances to go ahead of the trends of every cutting-edge technology popping out of the digital canvas. For several years, the healthcare industry has been cautious about exploring the latest technologies, but things have changed drastically with the outbreak of the pandemic and the sudden switching of the world to digital mediums.
Of that, one of the major technologies that are seen making transformative changes in the industry is virtual reality (VR). With many solutions coming out that include VR, virtual reality medical training is seeing the immense potential that VR can have for training, patient care, wellness, and more.

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality, comes under the wider category of Extended Reality (XR) technologies, which includes AR, VR, and MR. VR technology enables users to fully immerse themselves in a 3D computer-generated environment and interact with the artificial world in real time, transporting them from the physical world.
VR is often used interchangeably with its XR counterparts, AR and MR. The distinction between AR, MR, and VR is that Augmented Reality (AR) overlays digital elements like texts, images, videos, and other digital content onto the user’s physical space without completely detaching the user from their real environment but bringing the interactive experience to theirs. Mixed Reality (MR), blends in both the features of AR and VR.
Now that we have an idea of what VR exactly is, let’s explore the possibilities of VR in medical training.

Use Cases of Virtual Reality Medical Training

With times changing, healthcare has opened its doors to VR, adopting the technology to many of its diverse fields, with a prime focus on training. According to Statista, in 2024, VR in the healthcare market was worth just over 4 billion U.S. dollars worldwide. By 2029, the market was forecast to increase to over 13 billion U.S. dollars, with a forecast CAGR of 27.3 percent.
Training is crucial for any industry, but in healthcare, it holds more significance with one’s life at stake. As time passed, the healthcare domain began to think beyond classroom lectures and conventional lab practices to the new age of VR medical training.

1. Surgical Training

In the surgical training of aspiring surgeons, VR in surgical training has made a way where they can practice complicated procedures any number of times in a risk-free and safe environment without any of the real-life complications. In a surgery training solution, there will be 3D models of the human body right in front of them that are very similar in real life, enabling them to perform the surgery without any pressure or inhibition and they can perform it any number of times without even the need of an instructor. Furthermore, the trainees can perform the surgery any number of times and learn it in detail without any real-world consequences.

2. Emergency Training

In the highly unpredictable environment of an emergency room, healthcare professionals must be prepared to handle the worst-case scenarios. from cardiac arrests to mass casualties events. In such cases, VR simulations provide a realistic and immersive way to train the professionals for these situations, helping to ensure that medical personnel are ready to respond effectively.

For example, a VR simulation can recreate a mass casualty event, such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack, or situations like a cardiac arrest, where the trainee must save the patients, manage resources, and coordinate with other healthcare providers. This type of training helps to build the skills and confidence needed to perform under pressure in real emergency situations.

3. Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation

VR has been successful in making itself to be considered the next best solution for therapy and rehabilitation processes in the medical field. There have been VR applications used as a solution for hand therapy and their users range from children to adults. The application will have a certain set of tasks as well as games mostly focused on improving the functions of the hand, and their values are monitored to see the patient’s improvement. This has also been helpful in addressing many upper extremity conditions that are associated with the elbow, wrist, shoulder, and even upper extremity disorders originating from the neck.

Similarly, VR is also used as a solution for lower extremities with assistance from a gait training machine. The machine sends the feedback of the patient’s hip, knee, and foot to the VR, which in turn helps in simulating an environment with the patient’s leg movements, making the entire experience more fun and immersive.

4. Health Education

VR helps patients understand their medical condition by providing them with a detailed reconstruction of the organs and tissues of interest to them. This helps the patient with knowledge and understanding of the principles of treatment, increasing their satisfaction with the procedure.

Also, VR helps with spreading awareness by communicating with the users the actual effects of certain lifestyle practices and noxious substances on the body, like obesity and its associated metabolic dysfunctions, the growth of certain tumors, and the impact of smoking or drinking on lung and liver function, respectively.

5. Fitness

VR has many tailor-made applications related to yoga and fitness exercises. The users can just log into it and practice these techniques by looking at a video or a humanized model through VR. This makes the entire experience more lively and the user can perform this by wearing the VR.

On top of learning these exercises, users also get to choose a location for training or practicing their newly found skills, keeping them calm and relaxed during the process.

6. Pain Management

Cognitive distraction methods have been in use for a long time, employed by physicians to treat different types of pain. VR further enhances these distraction methods by providing various interactive games. While some applications provide therapeutic VR for burn victims, there are also significantly advanced measures that facilitate efficient limb pain management. Furthermore, VR serves as a drug-free pain management alternative that can be used with or without clinical care settings.

Winding up
The industry has finally shed its hesitation and has come forward to embrace the latest technologies. Of that, the most impactful technology has been VR, no doubt. Amongst these, VR left an indelible mark, taking over medical training to patient care. VR has emerged as a powerful tool for the workforce to hone the necessary skills. As technology continues to evolve, VR will open new avenues and lead to more significant roles in shaping the future of healthcare.