Authors: Ben Gauthier, Jeff Greene, Jeff MacFarland, Nicole Maksimovic, Sarah Morgan, Carly Stillwell
The “nextmakers” of EVERSANA INTOUCH know the Medical Metaverse is changing everything, whether you’re a patient, a provider, a caregiver… or a brand marketer. So we scour the world for the latest on the metaverse in healthcare and update you regularly on what you need to know.
Today’s topics:
– Augmented veins, and an app that “listens” for COVID
– Darth Vader and Iceman speak again
– The virtual hospital is going to be a thing
– Elsewhere in the metaverse….
– And: sneak peeks into our own metaverse-related work!
Augmented Veins and an App That “Listens” for COVID
- Medical visualization isn’t new, but it’s a fast-growing field thanks to augmented reality. One leader is Accuvein, whose product allows phlebotomists to display a map of patients’ veins on their skin. It makes blood tests and IV treatments faster and less painful. (Cureus.com)
- Surgery is one of the healthcare domains most ripe for VR/AR disruption. A great example is Xenco Medical’s holographic visualization tool (TechTimes.com), which lets surgeons see a floating 3D image of the anatomy they’re operating on.
- Medivis is another player (TechTarget.com) offering powerful AR visualization technology for surgeons; it syncs with a hospital’s medical imaging system to provide an accurate view “inside” the patient.
- Doubling down on its COVID franchise, Pfizer has just acquired a company whose app seeks to detect respiratory diseases by “listening” to your cough. (NewAtlas.com)
Darth Vader and Iceman Speak … Again
- James Earl Jones might be retiring from his decades of work as the voice of Darth Vader, but he’s agreed that future Star Wars installments can continue to use his voice… thanks to AI (IGN.com). Closer to home, synthetic voice generation is also playing a role in healthcare – it enabled Val Kilmer to reprise his role as Iceman in the latest Top Gun film, despite losing his ability to speak following throat cancer surgery (ZMEscience.com). As Respeecher notes, technology like this will increasingly help those with medical issues and make the metaverse more immersive for everyone.
The Virtual Hospital Is Going to Be a Thing
- We’ve been eagerly following the emergence of virtual hospitals in countries such as India and the United Kingdom. As the medical metaverse takes off in South Korea (KoreaBioMed.com), the author discusses the importance of establishing digital hospitals as metaverse hubs – holistic platforms offering realistic medical education and training as well as public lectures, to build knowledge and trust. We’ll keep our eyes open for similar activity in the U.S.
Elsewhere in the Metaverse …
- The famous DALL-E art generator is now available, in beta, without needing to sign up for a wait list (OpenAI.com)! Of course, brands are jumping in – from online apparel service Stitch Fix to Heinz ketchup. The creative and artistic possibilities of AI continue to expand.
- In fact, as AI image generation continues to improve, metaverse experiences will get even better, as noted by Corridor Crew. Your avatar will look, sound, and act more like you (or like you wish you were).
Sneak peeks into our own metaverse-related work
Curious about how we’re helping clients at EVERSANA INTOUCH wade into the medical metaverse? From AR educational experiences, to VR MOA projects, to virtual speaker events, to digital therapeutics, and more, we’re guiding our clients toward what’s next. Want an educational presentation on the metaverse to help your team get up to speed? Talk to your accout team!