Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Now this what i am looking forward to : Virtual reality technology will find buyers in healthcare industry

virtual reality applications have experienced double-digit growth both worldwide and in the U.S. since the turn of the century, and the 2010 U.S. market for virtual reality in surgery, medical education, therapy and other areas will grow to $290 million, according to a new report from research firm Kalorama Information.

Kalorama’s report, entitled Virtual Reality Market in the US Healthcare Sector: Markets for Remote Surgery, 3D Modeling, Pain Distraction and Other Applications,claims that VR applications have “revolutionized” the global healthcare industry.

The report surveys the current U.S. market for VR applications including growth factors and trends, forecasts, and a demand-side analysis demonstrating the drivers for VR applications.

Kalorama notes that VR applications provide opportunities to perform medical tasks in a risk-free environment and make training assessable to large numbers of students. VR simulators also allow medical professionals to remain up-to-date on the latest technical procedures required in their profession.

Current VR applications assist in numerous medical modalities from pre-operative planning and robot-assisted surgery, to medical curricula to teach anatomy of body parts. VR also allows for the visualization of medical data that can be integrated and simulated into 3D models to gather insights into the cause and effects of injuries. VR is even used as an alternative therapeutic for pain and depression, and can replace or reduce pharmaceutical usage in some cases.

“While still at a very nascent stage of commercialization, VR technologies are being widely used by the Department of Defense, medical schools and hospitals, and manufacturers of medical equipment on a variety of levels with significant benefit,” notes Steven Heffner, executive publisher of Kalorama Information. “The establishment of industry standards should lead to rapid commercialization of products, and ongoing technological advancements will only further the market, particularly in the surgery segment.”

Source: Healthcare IT News

No comments:

Post a Comment