healthcare

6 reasons augmented reality is worth it
6 Reasons Augmented Reality is Worth the Investment
13 May 2022

There is a lot of talk about virtual reality these days, with Facebook rebranding as Meta and their declared focus on creating the Metaverse — a completely digitally generated world in which users can work and play. But augmented reality — technology that projects digital enhancement onto our existing world — is being applied in a number of different industries as diverse as large machine manufacturing and shopping for makeup. AR has begun to take hold of the manufacturing and retail world with much more potential. Here are some reasons AR is the tech to watch.

Mobile AR had 600 million users worldwide in 2020

That number is on the rise. According to Statista, by 2023, 1.4 billion people across the globe will be using mobile augmented reality. That number is expected to continue to grow through 2024 and beyond, as more apps make use of smartphones’ existing ability to support AR technology.

The AR market will be worth over $97 billion by 2028

In 2020, the augmented reality market size was about $4.2 billion. It was over $6 billion by 2021 and is projected to keep growing. While AR took a small dip during the pandemic, it has rebounded nicely and continues to grow. (Fortune Business Insights)

Augmented Reality has applications in the industrial sector

AR’s overlay of digital information on a real-world environment helps technicians prevent mistakes and work more efficiently. Newport News Shipbuilding, a designer of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, uses AR to inspect newly built ships. The digital projections highlight construction structures, not part of the finished product, that must be removed. AR has reduced inspection time from 36 hours to just 90 minutes. (Harvard Business Review, 2019)

AR can make education more efficient

According to Michael Porter, some companies are already using augmented reality to reduce the training time for new employees to nearly zero. It also means they are able to hire people who are initially less skilled. Package delivery company DHL has found this especially advantageous with their seasonal hires during peak shipping times. (Harvard Business Review, 2019)

Augmented reality is already used in healthcare

With augmented reality, patients and care providers can draw and annotate on a 3-D screen during telehealth visits. When combined with machine learning algorithms, AR can help detect diseases such as cancer. Google’s 2020 announcement for an AR-based microscope for the Department of Defense is just such an example. Real-time camera images are processed with computer diagnostics to diagnose disease at an early stage. (mobidev.biz)

AR-enabled advertising is engaging customers

The L’Oreal YouCam makeup app was downloaded 3.5 million times in 2018. Many media planners today intend to incorporate more VR/AR experiences into their ads to improve the customer experience. (Assemblr) In fact, AR ad experiences are reportedly twice as engaging as their non-AR equivalents.

augmented reality and healthcare
What Augmented Reality Can Do for Healthcare
11 March 2022

Augmented reality’s ability to integrate digital information with the real-world environment has the potential to enhance and improve healthcare in a variety of groundbreaking ways. Diagnosis, telehealth visits and surgeries all stand to benefit from increased accuracy and efficiency, and AR is already been integrated into healthcare in some places. AR is expected to generate $1,918.6 million in the healthcare market by 2026. (Research Dive)

Collecting Blood Samples with Augmented Reality

If you’ve ever had your blood drawn, you may have experienced the phlebotomist struggling to find a vein. The hit-and-miss of this procedure can be painful, time-consuming and stressful for both parties. At AccuVein, a medical device company, they use AR technology to convert the heat signature of veins into an image. That image is then superimposed onto the patient’s skin, making the vein easier to find the first time. (Harvard Business Review, 2019)

Augmented Reality in the Operating Room

Imagine a surgery in which information is projected directly onto the patient without physicians having to move their attention to a monitor or another team member for updates. Microsoft Hololens 2 does just this, allowing the surgeon to keep both hands on the procedure. These hands-free solutions, according to Deloitte Research, will transform the healthcare business model. Automatic external defibrillator (AED) location is an emergency application for AR outside of the operating room. Using an app on a smartphone, anyone can see locations of the nearest AEDs overlayed onto the environment.

AR in Telehealth and Diagnosis

The number of telemedicine visits increased dramatically during the pandemic, and AR can improve this experience as well. With augmented reality, patients and care providers can draw and annotate on a 3-D screen. When combined with machine learning algorithms, AR can help detect diseases such as cancer. Google’s 2020 announcement for an AR-based microscope for the Department of Defense is just such an example. Real-time camera images are processed with computer diagnostics to diagnose disease at an early stage. (mobidev.biz)

AR can help a patient understand how a drug work in their body without sifting through complicated medical texts. It could even help students learn about the human body in a highly interactive and engaging 3-D format. There are many more applications for augmented reality in healthcare; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

More on Augmented Reality

What is Augmented Reality?

How Augmented Reality Will Change Shopping

How Augmented Reality Will Revolutionize Manufacturing