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August 17, 2022:- Artificial intelligence integrated with augmented and virtual reality sets the metaverse foundations across almost every assiduousness. The metaverse is in its newness phase, giving businesses a competitive edge, improving sales, and building brand prestige.
Nevertheless, in healthcare, the metaverse is proving to be much more. It is not only the guileless evolution of telehealth—installed as a new standard after the pandemic—it can also revert healthcare’s most influential barriers and challenges.
The August 2022 Healthcare in the Metaverse report from Market Research Future forecasts that by 2030 the healthcare metaverse market will rise by 48.3% CAGR and be worth $5.37 billion. Metaverse technology will generate a disruptive shift in healthcare, delivering better surgical precision, opening new treatment channels, and reducing costs while improving patient outcomes. Companies pushing this change include Brainlab AG, GE Healthcare, Novarad Corporation, Siemens Healthineers, Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft, Nvidia, Roblox, and gameChange VR, among others.
In representations of mental health, the metaverse has the potential to prevent a severe crisis. The 2022 State of Mental Health in America report shows that nearly 50 million American adults (19.86%) encountered a mental illness in 2019. Over 2.5 million youth battle with severe depression. Both adults and youth can not access treatment owing to a lack of insurance, long waiting times, shortage of professionals, and an overwhelmed and inadequate mental health system.
Robert Bell, Founder, and CEO of 2B3D, a California-founded company, uses metaverse technology to equip mental health treatment for U.S. veterans, another group positively affected by the U.S. mental health crisis, was interviewed by TechRepublic.
2B3D is migrating its telehealth platforms into its Virtual Reality Medical Environment (VRME), currently under development by its subsidiary VRx Solutions. 2B3D’s telehealth migration will be phased, first focusing on the priority of providing real-time virtual environment treatment for suicide ideation and post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD.
Once 2B3D’s metaverse is validated, they plan to expand to all states and regions, ideally aligned against local VA facilities. “Statistically, more than 800,000 individuals kill themselves each year in the world and 45,000 of those human lives in the United States. Arguably, the high percentage of veteran suicides remains inappropriate, with 6,261 veteran suicides in 2019,” the Founder and CEO of 2B3D told TechRepublic.
2B3D’s new metaverse project is in the entire development stage. They recently completed an initial cognitive testing program with Forge Forward Project, a veteran-owned and operated nonprofit committed to ending veteran suicide through the use of VR technology. The cognitive test results will be employed to incorporate the most efficacious therapies for trauma treatments into a virtual reality environment.
“As we migrate from current telehealth platforms to a real-time virtual environment, we will be able to take the frustration out of the experience for the individual; no more waiting on phone lines or being told your symptoms aren’t serious enough to warrant attention,” Bell stated.
2B3D’s primary goal is to build a metaverse experience that enables qualified professional treatment. “At a minimum, we envision a 24/7/365 group therapy opportunity,” Bell states.
2B3D’s metaverse efforts have been especially designed in Unity, a platform for real-time content creation. The company is eager to examine Unreal Engine 5, an advanced real-time next-generation 3D content and experiences generator tool.
Data security, cybersecurity, and accessibility are top prerogatives for the company. “The 2B3D team understands the challenges with implementing a full technical solution from data storage and cyber security requirements to end-user devices,” Bell noted. Additionally, Bell highlighted the significance of their metaverse to be accessible through all VR glasses or headsets.
Regarding data security, 2B3D thinks that the blockchain and NFTs functions are the solution to address data privacy and cybersecurity. “Medical records management could effortlessly be executed through blockchain technologies,” Bell confirms.
