INDIA – As the virtual reality world has begun to mark its footprint, Hyderabad-based Yashoda Group has become the first hospital in the country to set is footprint on a Metaverse platform, the group stated.
It has acquired a parcel of land on decentraland, the popular Metaverse platform and has set up an experience zone to mark more than 30 years of healthcare service it has offered.
The Metaverse is a fusion of physical, augmented, and virtual reality and it is a public virtual world that may be accessed via the internet.
Moreover, it creates a “virtual world” experience by simulating human emotions and gestures. Interestingly, the metaverse encompasses the entire social and economic structure that exists in both the actual and virtual worlds.
Dr Abhinav Gorukanti, Director, Yashoda Hospitals said, “We believe the future will be driven by core technologies like the blockchain and Web 3.0, moving from a centralized to a decentralized ecosystem.
“Setting up our presence on decentraland is the first step towards our efforts and acceptance of decentralized tech, we will continue to upgrade and invest in making our digital infrastructure future-ready,” he added.
We believe the future will be driven by core technologies like the blockchain and Web 3.0, moving from a centralized to a decentralized ecosystem.”
The hospital group is also looking forward to offering healthcare services to the people on the metaverse, and creating employment for metaversians as well whenever the regulatory norms of the platform mature.
Web 3.0 and metaverse will change the way people interact with each other, this is going to make digital connectedness more immersive and life-like, according to Dr. Gokuranti.
Web 3.0 technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, and the Internet of Medical Things are already being used to do things like train front-line pandemic workers and relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS).
Metaverse as the next frontier in the healthcare sector
Among other industries, healthcare too will have opportunities to benefit from Metaverse technology, especially telemedicine, where the patient can experience near to real-life consultation experience.
Research by McKinsey indicates that the use of telehealth increased 38x from the pre-pandemic baseline to 2021.
The metaverse will enable us to expand on traditional telemedicine services. In the metaverse, healthcare providers will be able to effectively virtually examine patients, and potentially diagnose certain health conditions.
Metaverse telehealth consultations will also mean patients won’t need to be limited to healthcare professionals in their geographic location.
This is particularly helpful in areas of the world where there is a shortage of medical professionals or where people have trouble accessing care.
Medical training and education
The other area which could see a large transformation is in medical education, conferences, among others where participants and trainers can interact via their avatars just like they interact in person.
In a virtual reality educational environment, students and trainees could examine the anatomy of a human body, and the possibilities for solving problems, developing creativity, and creating learning spaces in the metaverse are practically limitless.
The Academy, the WHO’s cutting-edge learning center, has launched a new feature in their training application that uses augmented reality to show health workers how to stay safe when working with COVID-19 patients.
The app shows how to properly put on and remove personal protective equipment.
During the demonstration, a learner can observe a figure putting on and removing PPE and then direct the figure’s movements, thus “learning by doing” rather than simply watching a training video.
“At Yashoda Hospitals we intended to develop medical education and training ecosystem on the metaverse. And in the future build virtual clinics and hospitals as and when the technology gears up,” Dr. Gorukanti told Financial Express.com.
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