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. 2023 Sep 20:5:1184925.
doi: 10.3389/fmedt.2023.1184925. eCollection 2023.

Implications of immersive technologies in healthcare sector and its built environment

Eunsil Yang  1
Affiliations

Implications of immersive technologies in healthcare sector and its built environment

Eunsil Yang. Front Med Technol. .

Abstract

Objectives: This research focuses on how built environment experts can contribute to the MXR-enabled digital innovation as part of the multidisciplinary team effort to ensure post-pandemic resilience in healthcare built environment. The goal of this research is to help healthcare providers, built environment experts, and policy makers respectively: (1) Advocate the benefits of MXR for innovating health and social care; (2) Spark debate across networks of expertise to create health-promoting environment; and (3) Understand the overriding priorities in making effective pathways to the implementation of MXR.

Methods: To highlight the novelty of this research, the study relies on two qualitative methodologies: exploratory literature review and semi-structured interviews. Based on the evaluation of prior works and cross-national case studies, hypotheses are formulated from three arenas: (1) Cross-sectional Initiatives for Post-pandemic Resilience; (2) Interoperability and Usability of Next-gen Medicines; and (3) Metaverse and New Forms of Value in Future Healthcare Ecosystems. To verify those hypotheses, empirical findings are derived from in-depth interviews with nine key informants.

Results: The main findings are summarized under the following three themes: (1) Synergism between Architecture and Technology; (2) Patient Empowerment and Staff Support; and (3) Scalable Health and Wellbeing in Non-hospital and Therapeutic Settings. Firstly, both built environment and healthcare sectors can benefit from the various capabilities of MXR through cross-sectional initiatives, evidence-based practices, and participatory approaches. Secondly, a confluence of knowledge and methods of HCI and HBI can increase the interoperability and usability of MXR for the patient-centered and value-based healthcare models. Thirdly, the MXR-enabled technological regime will largely affect the new forms of value in healthcare premises by fostering more decentralized, preventive, and therapeutic characteristics in the future healthcare ecosystems.

Conclusion: Whether it's virtual or physical, our healthcare systems have placed great emphasis on the rigor of evidence-based approach linking health outcome to a clinical environment. Henceforth, built environment experts should seek closer ties with the MXR ecosystems for the co-production of scalable health and wellbeing in non-hospital and therapeutic settings. Ultimately, this is to improve resource efficiency in the healthcare sector while considering the transition of health resources towards in silico status by increasing the implementation of MXR.

Keywords: digital health; extended reality (XR); future healthcare ecosystems; health metaverse; immersive technology; medical extended reality (MXR); therapeutic environment; virtual reality (VR).

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reality-virtuality continuum of immersive technologies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
MXR during COVID-19 (14), showing suggested XR technologies and apps for a small portion of healthcare roles. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Google trends of health metaverse in 2015–2022 (30), showing (A) the regional share of interest in health metaverse and metaverse; (B) the interest over time in blockchain, telepresence, digital twin, and metaverse. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Three dimensions of HBI research (87), illustrating three concentric circles of “people”, “built environment”, and “computing” to describe how the HBI themes can operate between three dimensions: physical, spatial and social. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Blueprints of future healthcare ecosystems (91), rendering (A) incentivizing and ubiquitous infrastructure platforms; (B) humanized and personal healthcare built environment that are enhanced by digital technologies, including XR. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Dtx ecology for modifiable behaviors (112), showing future perspectives for the ecological environment of behavioral medicine that leverages digital technologies, including XR. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Qualitative research process.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Stakeholders in MXR ecosystems.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Key usability elements in HCI and HBI, comparing three elements (133) that constitute the definition of usability in human-computer interactions and human-building interactions.
Figure 10
Figure 10
1st hypothesis verification.
Figure 11
Figure 11
2nd hypothesis verification.
Figure 12
Figure 12
3rd hypothesis verification.
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