UAE Metaverse Healthcare pushes the frontiers of medicine

As part of Dubai’s ambition to become a global virtual world business and technology hub, the emirate recently opened its first hospital in a virtual world built by Emirati healthcare provider Medcare.

See more: Dubai steps up efforts to become global metaverse capital

The Metaverse medical facility mirrors the real world Medcare Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Dubai and will be used in their medical tourism programme to provide potential patients with an immersive experience at the hospital prior to an in-person visit.

“Our ultimate goal is to deliver real-world healthcare through real-time consultation from our team of more than 400 medical experts,” said Dr. Shanila Laiju, CEO of Medcare Hospitals and Medical Centers, in announcing the launch.

She added that they hope that in the long term, traditional telehealth services will be replaced by the need for Metaverse interactions, allowing “our patients to receive a more tangible and collaborative service.”

Earlier this year, Thumbay Group, another Emirati healthcare company, announced its intention to build a virtual hospital where doctors and patients can consult remotely. Thumbay Group is also partnering with the UAE-based Gulf Medical University to incorporate virtual reality (VR) into medical training.

While Metaverse skeptics might argue that these initiatives are nothing more than telemedicine with 3D glasses, another project unveiled earlier this month at the Gitex 2022 conference at the Dubai World Trade Center proved that telemedicine Can go beyond counseling to therapy.

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Currently in clinical trials, India’s HealthTech ShopDoc is developing a digital new eye test.

While there have been other experiments with digital eye care, previous attempts have assessed changes in patients’ vision over time by asking customers to distinguish a few letters and shapes within their current prescription range.

However, these new tests use technology developed by US-based digital optometry specialist CLEAR to test a more comprehensive set of prescription factors, including visual acuity, contrast, pupil size, accommodation, binocular balance, and more, which the company says is able to provide a clinically validated 20/20 prescription.

The remote eye test is planned to be rolled out first in India and the UAE, and the technology will be available to users of the ShopDoc Metaverse platform. ShopDoc has signed agreements with more than 100 eye clinics in the UAE as part of efforts to promote its Metaverse digital eye testing program.

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Transforming modern surgery with VR/AR

In addition to enabling enhanced remote appointments through VR, surgeons are also using the technology to simulate surgery. In fact, in life-or-death situations, some virtual practice beforehand can make a big difference.

Earlier this year, surgeons in Brazil experimented with VR projections based on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for several months to separate two sets of conjoined twins.

With some members of the team in London and others in Rio de Janeiro, for the first time, surgeons from different countries are wearing headsets and operating in real time in the same virtual operating room.

To bring this cutting-edge technology to the UAE, Dubai-based Abdul Latif Jameel Health has partnered with Japanese medical VR specialist Holoeyes on a project that will deploy detailed 3D VR models for training, education and analysis.

In the related field of augmented reality (AR)-assisted surgery, medical professionals in Abu Dhabi have been pioneering new surgical techniques using Microsoft’s HoloLens AR headset.

Technology used by Dr. Rashed Al Shaeel of Burjeel Medical City Comparison of To “surgical satellite navigation,” which provides surgeons with real-time patient data and shows them where to make incisions.

At the same time, colleagues can remotely monitor surgical procedures through the headset’s cameras, allowing experts around the world to see the patient’s condition in real time.

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