Mayo Clinic Doctors Using Metaverse Technology For Surgeries

Interest in the metaverse is fading, it is dead. Such ‘talk-sick’ discussions have become common among skeptics of digital worlds. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector may have identified great potential in the metaverse. According to KPNX, an NBC affiliate for the Phoenix (Arizona) region, doctors are using augmented reality (AR) for spinal surgery.

Metaverse Looks Like a Boon to Surgeons

Mayo Clinic, a leading not-for-profit healthcare organization in the United States, is leveraging the technology in collaboration with an extended reality (XR) service provider in healthcare, Surgical Theater. Patient 3-D scans enable a surgeon to look through bones and tissue without slit opening a person. Moreover, it works in real-time, a doctor said.

The 160 years old healthcare institution has used augmented reality for brain surgery before. Dr. Maziyar Kalani, a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, said, “There are a lot of little, vital, important structures: nerves, blood vessels, organs. With X-Ray, you don’t see. With small incisions, you don’t see.” He added, “But when you overlay the entirety of the anatomy on the patient, you can see those. So that really levels up the safety.”

Metaverse technologies are coming handy in different sectors. Last month, The Lantern, an Ohio-based news provider, reported the State will use virtual reality (VR) to train first responders. The Ohio State team is preparing for extreme scenarios which the Ohio Task Force 1 medical manager, Nicholas Kman, explains are ‘high in stakes and low in frequency.’

Greenpeace, an environment-focused campaign, revealed realistic experiences of rich environments using virtual reality domes to raise climate awareness during Brighton Fringe, England’s biggest art festival. The initiative emphasized on bringing regions including Amazon and Antarctic in front of people using the technology to draw their attention to what global warming is taking away from them.

In October 2022, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), a global police cooperation and crime control organization, announced their entry in metaverse. The move came amid rising cybercriminal activities in digital environments and worldwide adoption of the technology. The agency said the World Economic Forum (WEF), an intergovernmental lobbying body, had joined their initiative.

The Buffalo News, a Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan region news provider, reported that Buffalo Bills, an American football team, will allow fans to experience their new stadium via virtual reality. The initiative enables a 360-degree view of the place, offering a gist of where they are going to see the team’s future touchdowns.

Gaming May Still Remain a Major Driver For VR Adoption

As of now, gaming and entertainment dominate the utility profile of metaverse. New utilities are being discovered at an increasing pace as various sectors are experimenting on or with the metaverse. Gaming, however, will remain the primary driver for the technology’s global adoption in the near future.

A large variety of games including Resident Evil, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and more are coming up with their remastered versions, garnering significant attention. Nvidia, a graphic processing unit (GPU) maker and a multinational technology company, recently came up with real-time interaction with non-playable characters (NPCs) using Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE).

The possibility of these technologies being available in virtual environments enhances the AR/VR headgear market’s appeal to gamers globally.

Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.