New developments in cardiovascular treatment and improved outcomes for patients are the result of rapid advancements in the field of extended reality (XR), according to a review paper published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology: Basic to Translational Science. Cardiac care applications include education and training, pre-procedural planning, visualization during procedures and post-stroke patient rehabilitation.
The promise of virtual reality, one of the XR technologies, as a way for physicians to gain a noninvasive understanding of organ anatomy has been around for years, noted Dr. Jennifer N.A. Silva, an assistant professor of pediatrics and cardiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL) who served as lead author of the paper. But development was hindered by bulky equipment and low-quality virtual images. New technologies, such as head-mounted displays and display system advances, have enabled new classes of 3D platforms that, according to Silva, are transforming clinical cardiology.
Extended reality is a term that refers to all environments that combine real and virtual interaction, including not only augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), but also merged reality and mixed reality, which allow for interaction with digital objects while preserving a sense of presence within the true physical world.
In the context of cardiac care, this includes allowing patients and family members to better understand their cardiac conditions and make more informed decisions surrounding medical care; better visualization of cardiac abnormalities and simulation of operating environments for medical students and trainees; and better assessments of the heart in surgical situations where it may be difficult to see. Improvements like these will most likely translate into lower cost procedures and better outcomes for patients, according to the research.
Challenges and limitations still exist, however. "These technologies are still constrained due to cost, size, weight and power to achieve the highest visual quality, mobility, processing speed and interactivity," said Silva. "Every design decision to mitigate these challenges affects applicability for use in each procedural environment."
