How the Process of Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality will Impact the Treatment of Diabetes?

In a world of 7 billion human beings, approximately 463 million people suffer from Diabetes which is around 9.3% of the entire population. Estimation by The Global Diabetes Prevalence shows that by 2030, this number can go up to 578 million. With a high risk of Diabetes, it is essential to develop new technologies to battle diseases because age cannot be just a number in this era. With increase in age, Diabetes can also become life-threatening if not treated correctly or quickly. Embracing technology in medical care is the best option to treat this illness as we are becoming even more advanced through interconnected technologies. That is where the idea of using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology in medical science comes in. 

AUGMENTED REALITY 

There will always exist a fine line between the efficiency of a skilled human being and a computer; though ironically a laptop is made by human beings. Machines play an essential role in assisting a doctor in the treatment of different areas of diseases. Besides using several ways of treating patients, doctors today are trying to visualize the various situations they are to operate. A living object can never be a medium of experimenting and learning in case of a medical emergency. The only thing that becomes the most precious is time. That is why in the treatment of Diabetes, doctors are using three-dimensional representations of the patient’s anatomy to get a virtual idea of how to treat them in advance to prevent medical emergencies. With the help of advanced computer vision skills, 3D modelling, and desktop technologies, AR developers could develop innovative solutions with a kind of software accessible by surgeons in the field of medical care.

VIRTUAL REALITY 

Patients of diabetes are vulnerable to sudden hospitalization if they don’t get regular check ups. For regular patients, Type 1 diabetes is more difficult to manage because of sudden complications in their health. With time, patients with Diabetes start losing their organs, or specifically, the case of organ failure happens suddenly after living with the disease for a long time for too long now. The NHS England Diabetes team tied up with the Oxford medical simulation has come up with an idea of using VR technology to check up the patients in an emergency by creating a headset that enables them to see virtual reality scenarios. The VR system can potentially recognize and reduce life-threatening diabetes-related complications. 

USING AR/VR IN THE FIELD OF DIABETES

Day by day, Diabetes is spreading like wildfire. In 1996, when the first uses of insulin came out at the price of a monthly supply of insulin was $21, however by 2019 it reached approximately $275. The study reveals that irrespective of using insulin daily to control the blood sugar level, fluctuating blood sugar levels worsens the situation of the person. These sudden incidents are dangerous as they cannot be identified within a reasonable time. Professionals in medical facilities revealed that they had no idea how to undertake quick action to cure a diabetic patient who is in dire condition to get immediate treatment. Oxford and NHS’ team revealed that the frontline staff engaged in medical care also needed to improve their essential medical learning. An NHS clinical entrepreneur and co-founder of Oxford Medical Simulation, Dr Jack Pottle, said that he had never practiced managing a diabetic emergency until he did it in real life. You would not expect a pilot to fly a plane full of passengers without having practiced first. Why do we think that it is acceptable for doctors and nurses? According to Dr Partha Kar, NHS England Clinical Doctor of Diabetes, embracing technology is at the core of the NHS’ long-term plan. Training doctors using Virtual Reality is a way of modernizing the NHS to improve care for patients with Diabetes. Before infrastructure, types of machinery used, and other investment types in inaugurating a hospital, a high range of training is essential for the frontline staff. With virtual reality technology, doctors are much more advanced to handle any crisis in a real-life situation. In 2017, a study in the UK shows that around 260,000 diabetic patients experienced a medication error, leading to serious harm to health or even death. Using the virtual reality system makes it easier for medical supervisors to diagnose and treat Diabetes, much faster than treating it using traditional methods.

AR can offer a better way here to look up or to manage the symptoms of Diabetes. When a healthy-wealthy person gets diagnosed with Diabetes, within a blink of an eye life gets much more complicated to deal. Besides prescribing medicines, doctors suggest too many things that lead to instant life-changing habits and to accept a completely different lifestyle people become a mess. People often avoid those strict routines, as suggested by the doctor. That is why self-monitoring is essential. One usually experiences that even if people take their medicines; their blood sugar level is fluctuating, which can cause serious illness. In medical science, AR technology is being used for self-monitoring of portion control and nutritional value keeping in mind the quality of life. This technology can also help to depict the actual level of sugar intake with every bite of food. It also aids in determining how to manage their diabetic diet. Not only monitoring food habits is essential, but AR technology can also check for the area where the patient is injecting the insulin. At present, the patients avoid repeating the same over the skin to inject insulin again and prevent lipoatrophy. AR systems can also look into the insulin intake of a patient so that a person does not end up with an overdose which can result in fatal hypoglycemia.  

TAKEAWAYS

Healthcare workers are continuously working on improving the services offered, but it is also the patient’s responsibility to take care of them. Some patients can benefit greatly from medication cost reduction through a pill cutter, the savings which they can use in diagnostics using AR and VR. Including AR and VR systems to invigilate makes a diabetic person’s life easier to cope with the instant changes after being diagnosed with Diabetes. Medical supervisors worldwide are looking forward to introducing AR and VR technologies to prevent human error and serve affordable medical care to every human being.