There’s no question the gaming world has influenced recent developments in healthcare. Avatars, for example, have been entering the realms of health insurance exchanges, patient adherence and clinical trial collaboration. Actual games have been developed to help doctors identify symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, improve vaccine education, and help young doctors and nurses improve their communication skills with patients. But how about holograms?
One company has developed technology to enhance and amplify 3-D imaging to the point where the graphics are bursting out of the screen and into your personal space.
Sunnyvale, California-based zSpace has been making inroads with its technology particularly for medical education.
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To use zSpace’s technology, users don specialized glasses, monitor and a stylus to grab and move images from the screen to float in front of them. The company is also working with other businesses to enable its technology to be integrated with their software platforms. Through its technology access program, it’s working with medical device companies like Siemens as well as entrepreneurs in the life sciences space such as Cyber Anatomy. The Iowa City business is using zSpace’s technology to create a virtual lab for Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine to help students there do dissections of virtual cadavers to learn about human anatomy.
With the 3-D imaging market projected to grow from its current level of $3 billion to $9.8 billion in 2018, zSpace sees potential for its technology to be integrated into imaging systems.
MRIs and CT scans are using 3-D in simulators to help residents and physicians practice and rehearse complex surgical procedures such as treating a brain aneurysm. There’s also potential for its technology to be used in neuroimaging.
Its technology could improve patient engagement by helping physicians improve the way they explain procedures and medical conditions.