A World Imagined

A World Imagined and the Evolution of Technology

It was just a decade ago when our unsophisticated minds couldn’t conceive the new technological advancements. But the time had to do its talking, and evolution had to be brought in. The thoughts imagined by our futurists needed to be turned into actions for the welfare of human kind. Humans have always faced greater issues in every aspect of life, but healthcare had to be heeded first. We have always imagined a world free of disease where we could guess the cure to every problem before it even occurs. What if this “just” thought of the world can ever be turned into reality? What if the virtual world that we have created can be augmented into the real world? What if Augmented Reality is ever used to its fullest to overcome the biggest hurdle in healthcare?

Defining Augmented Reality (AR)

From the time ‘augmented reality’ was introduced, there have been many questions raised about it. Augmented reality is expounded as an enhanced version of reality where live direct or indirect views of physical real-world environments are augmented with superimposed computer-generated images over a user's view of the real-world, thus enhancing one’s current perception of reality. With the advent of augmented reality, it has broken down several stereotypical hurdles in the world of medicine.

Real-Time Benefits for Healthcare Professionals

Imagine that you walk into your scheduled doctor (or dentist) appointment, only to find your doctor (or dentist) wearing an augmented reality headset (e.g. Google Glass). Although it may look strange, this technology allows him (or her) to access past records, pictures, and other historical data in real-time to discuss with you. Instantly accessing this digital information without having to log into a computer or check a records room proves to be a major benefit to healthcare professionals. Integration of augmented reality-assisted systems with patient record management technologies is already a highly desirable utility. Data integrity and accessibility are major benefits to this type of system, where record access becomes instantaneous and consistent across all professionals to the most current records, instructions, and policies.