Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-simulated environment that provides visual, sound and even tactile effects to the user. It allows complete immersion in the virtual scenario, as if the person was actually present there. It requires using technologies with stereoscopic displays, such as the popular headsets (special glasses that transmit the simulation).
By such features, it has been increasingly used in several areas. Includind in healthcare.
Check out how virtual reality, apllied to medicine, helps treating various diseases, training professionals and even improving the quality of life of the elderly and physically disabled.
1. Virtual reality in medicine – treatments
Pain
Imagine yourself in a beautiful, relaxing and fun place while undergoing, at the same time, an extremely painful treatment? Experts have found that virtual reality therapy fills the brain with so much information that it leaves no room to process pain sensations at the same time.
Far beyond a distraction, the technique offers a multisensory experience that engages the patient on a much deeper level than watching TV or reading, for example.
One of the first VR programs aims to treat burns. SnowWorld is a game that patients play while having wounds cleaned – a highly painful procedure. It’s simple: users throw snowballs at Penguins. However, it has shown significant results. It was developed by the University of Washington in the United States.
Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has assisted Psychiatric treatment of phobias. The technique provides the most direct approach to the patient’s fears and anxieties in a controlled environment. Instead of visualizing or mentalizing fears, patients can experience the situation in the doctor’s room, a safe and welcoming space.
During therapy, doctors and psychologists can evaluate the patient’s responses and indicate the best treatments.
Anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is useful to treat other disorders, such as anxiety, depression, panic syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The virtual environment enables patients to experience changes in body and mind, similar to real-life symptoms. All in a controlled scenario followed by specialist psychiatrists and psychologists.
A study, conducted at St George’s Hospital in London, evaluated the use of VR in patients suffering anxiety during hospitalization for surgical procedures. They viewed soft landscapes and listened to relaxing music through a headset.
The results: 94% were more relaxed, 80% felt less pain and 73% less anxiety.
Phantom Pain
Virtual reality in medicine has presented results even for treating phantom pain in paraplegic and amputee patients. For instance, games stimulate the user to move the missing member.
They help the brain reconnect the stimulus areas, temporarily alleviating or even eliminating pain.
2. Physiotherapy
Virtual reality assists physiotherapy in the evaluation and rehabilitation of patients with movement, postural balance and pace disorders. For example, non-immersive technologies create machine-learning exercises to customize each activity to the patients’ therapeutic needs.
Several studies have shown that VR reduces dizziness and other otoneurological symptoms and improves body balance, functional capacity and quality of life.
3. Cognitive rehabilitation
Several researches study virtual reality applied to rehabilitation and cognitive development of people suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders and autism. In the latter case, scientists from the University of Texas, in the United States, simulated virtual realities where patients interacted with other people, such as shopping in the supermarket.
After training, eight young autistic adults – without great impairment of understanding – showed significant increases in social cognitive measures of theory of mind and recognition of emotions and in the social and occupational functioning of real life.
Currently, the university offers a training program that helps young autistic people exercise their social skills.
4. Training doctors
Virtual reality applied to medicine enables both seeing details of the human body and training procedures.
Student, have you ever thought of practicing surgery in a virtual environment? Stanford University has a simulator which allows the most complete training for the future surgeon.
According to researchers, a three-dimensional virtual surgical environment can enable enhanced pre-operative planning and testing. It thus improves results of patients, decreases complication rates and improves technical skills.
Stanford Virtual Surgical Environment (VSE) is developed for rhinological procedures. The technology allows the surgeon to interact with patient-specific three-dimensional reconstructions of nasal sinus CT data sets using a modified haptic interface device, triggering a virtual endoscope.
There are also options of simulators in Brazil. For example, Eyesi aims to train intraocular cataract surgery and vitreous retinal procedures. It presents performance score and evaluates tremor, movement accuracy and repetitiveness, inter alia. Therefore, it is a good tool either for interns to practice or to introduce new techniques in ophthalmic surgery.
There are also the Da Vinci surgical systems for robotic surgery, already in their fourth generation. The equipment carries out minimally invasive surgeries in different procedures. One of its tools is a console – inspired by flight simulators – in which doctors view the high-definition 3D images and make the operative movements with their own hands, which are transmitted to the robot.
It also applies to train and requalify students, residents and specialists in attendance or within the surgical center. Thus, it is possible to analyze ethnographically the performance of the professional – alone during the procedure – by capturing images from a local camera.
5. Quality of life for the elderly and physically disabled
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Elderly and physically disabled may have difficulty moving. So, imagine them able to experience cycling and diving in the sea? Some projects develop these scenarios so realistically that they even change the temperature, light and wind direction.
There are also technologies that help reduce depression in elderly people who live bedridden or in nursing homes. The startup Rendever uses virtual reality devices, personalized software and a tablet to recreate memories chosen by the elderly, such as their home during childhood.
Reviewed by Paulo Schor, ophthalmologist, free professor and director of innovation of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and collaborator of the Faculty of Medicine of the Albert Einstein Hospital.
Are you interested in virtual reality applied to medicine? Follow Phelcom’s blog and stay on top of the main news.
Thousands of research and studies around the world are increasingly seeking answers on how the new coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) affects the body. Since the emergence of the pandemic, the ophthalmology field has already reported changes in the conjunctiva, sclera and retina . In addition,the virus was found in teardrops.
Now, a Brazilian study has detected the virus in retinas for the first time. The Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) carried out the research, published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Learn about the research, results and next stages.
Coronavirus and eyes: search and results
In June and July 2020, researchers compared the retinas of three patients who died from covid-19. They preserved their eyes and cut them in a specialized lab. Then they evaluated the material put in blades.
The researchers found the virus proteins in endothelial cells, close to the capillary flame and the cells of the inner and outer nuclear layers of the retina.
Thus, the results reinforce possible ocular clinical manifestations of infection. They rise a warning sign: the virus may be directly related to different forms of the disease. Including neurological ones, due to similarities with the retina. In fact, the retina is an important biomarker as it is part of the nervous system. It is more accessible and allows identifying the virus in certain places of the body.
Undoubtedly, the research results can help understand and cope with the sequelae of patients infected with the new coronavirus.
“Now it is clear that after infecting the respiratory system, the virus can spread throughout the body, reaching different tissues and organs. Thus, the findings may help elucidate the virus pathophysiology and its etiological mechanisms. It may allow better understanding the disease sequelae and make way for future research” say the research coordinators, Rubens Belfort Jr. and Wanderley de Souza in news published on the Unifesp website.
Reviewed by Paulo Schor, ophthalmologist, free professor and director of innovation of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and collaborator of the Faculty of Medicine of the Albert Einstein Hospital.
Follow Phelcom’s blog and stay on top of the main news about coronavirus and the eyes.
Algorithm was runned during the Itabuna Diabetes Campaign and helped the health professionals to screen and refer more than 820 Diabetic Retinopathy patients. The solution will be released to the market still in 2021.
Phelcom fundus camera, the Eyer, has been used in Itabuna Diabetes Campaign several times, but this year it was different. In the captured images was runned an Artificial Intelligence algorithm developed by Phelcom, where it could be identified with a good sensitivity and specificity patients with Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) condition.
Exam being performed using the Eyer during the Itabuna Diabetes Campaign.
The sensitivity was 97.8%, what means a high algorithm capacity in identifying patients with DR. When it was analyzed the specificity, the number reached was 61.4%, that indicates the percentage of health patients that the algorithm confirmed that really was healthy. The AUC, Area Under the Curve, was 0.89 and it shows in this scenario a high rate of the algorithm assertivity to refer just DR patients to in person consultation and not the healthy ones.
Sensitivity was high when indicating more than mild cases, the ones where the patient needs to undergo a medical treatment with a specialist – the mild ones are usually monitored at every given time period. Besides specificity was not in a higher score as sensitivity, it was a good result considering the algorithm was not only detecting DR, but other retinal alterations like hypertensive retinopathy, aged macular degeneration (AMD), toxoplasmosis, among others, while the physician was focused on this project to detect just DR cases.
Examples of the algorithm heath map enhancing the colours in regions where it was detected retinal alterations and pointing the percentage of the Retinal Alteration Score. Source: Phelcom.
The article, published in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, points out that screening patients on diabetic retinopathy could be one of the most cost-effective initiatives on diabetes care, but in several scenarios there is insufficient health care structure and resources in terms of funding, trained health care human resources, and facilities.
Eyer is a portable, connected and affordable device to perform posterior and anterior eye exams, these characteristics were highly suited to capture the images during the health campaign. As the equipment offers high quality images, to run an artificial algorithm in the images was a natural step, as it could help the health professionals screen more than 820 patients.
Phelcom has been developing this solution during the past few years, it still has no commercial name, but it will be available on the market still in the first semester of 2021. José Stuchi, CEO at Phelcom, says the company aims to develop new artificial intelligence services that will be aggregated to the EyerCloud, Phelcom’s cloud system to store patients medical records. “We are sure that this new algorithm and other ones we are working on will help physicians to diagnose those challenging conditions that sometimes are difficult to be identified to the unaided eye”, he stands.
When working with scarce resources, whether human, financial or material, Phelcom is creating solutions to break down barriers to eye care access, enabling health professionals to reach patients in different scenarios and regions.
The full publication and results are available in the original article, access: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/H58YCATDBNT5YRZYAXKW/full
Google ads for doctors is a tool that helps you bring new patients to your office. We all know that people search on Google for what to do, where to go, what to buy and even which doctor to choose. This resource allows your ad to be shown exactly when someone is looking for services as yours.Thus, you can increase site visits, appointments and, consequently, the number of patients. But, how to attract more customers with Google ads for doctors? Learn how to in this article.
Google ADS for doctors: how it works
Google Ads is a Google Ads platform. It allows you to create online ads with sponsored links, which will appear to the user according to the search keywords.By this, your advertising may appear on YouTube videos, in Google search engine, on sites related to your area of activity, applications, etc. All depends on the strategy your team sets.The position of your ad on Google will depend on three factors: the relevance of the keyword to the subject searched, as well as the quality of the ad and the landing page; the maximum CPC (cost per click) bid, a comparison of the advertiser with the highest value per click; and the Ad rank, an average value between the previous two.
The tool also delivers the metrics of the carried out campaigns. This way you can evaluate the number of impressions and ad clicks, as well as identify the users who clicked. Thus, it allows you to find out which type of ad performed best and better control the return on your online investments.By the way, the charge for the ad only occurs when you receive clicks. In addition, you can also limit the amount spent for each click received.
Google ADS for doctors: how it works
Check a step-by-step guide to create online campaigns with Google ADS:
1.Set the target audience Which patients do you want to attract? Information such as age, job, location, level of education and income help create your target audience.
2.Create the personas Personas are ideal, detailed profiles of the patient you want to attract. In addition to the information above, one must analyze lifestyle, habits, behaviors, frustrations, difficulties, leisure, etc.
3. Create the campaign With personas in hand, you can define which type of media is most consumed and make ads there. Example: blogs and YouTube.
4. Choose keywords This step is critical for your ad to appear or not to your persona. Here, you need to define the keywords that are most related to your specialty and that should draw the attention of your potential patient.
5. Select your goal In the tool, adjust your ad based on the desired results, such as receiving more calls at your clinic, attracting more patients, or directing people to your site.
6. Decide where to advertise You decide where you want to display the ads and Google will show it to the right people.
7. Create your message Show off what’s special about your office in three short sentences to win patients over, or add images to create eye-catching banner ads.
8. Set your budget limit You’ll never pay more than your monthly budget and can adjust or pause whenever you want. In addition, the platform shows the estimated results based on the chosen budget.
Google Ads can be a tool that helps you find ways to improve your ads and generate better results, thus freeing the doctor to focus on what he knows best: serving patients.It also provides reports, insights, and tips for you to track your progress and further optimize ads.
Another tip: create Google My Business, a free and easy-to-use tool that allows healthcare institutions to manage their online presence on Google, including Search and Maps.To do this, you can create a profile of your business with all the essential data.
That way, when people search directly by your name or the office or by keywords related to your specialty, Google will show your professional profile.
See a step-by-step guide to create your profile in this article.
Reviewed by Paulo Schor, ophthalmologist, associate professor and director of innovation of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) and collaborator of the Faculty of Medicine of the Albert Einstein Hospital.Follow Phelcom’s blog and see tips on how to improve the digital marketing strategy of medical offices and clinics.
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