Apple Vision Pro could be used by doctors
A hospital system in San Diego is now exploring how the Apple Vision Pro could be an indispensable tool beyond static data, but also for overlaying scans and other health information over a patient being examined.
Sharp HealthCare, a California-based organization, is exploring the potential of spatial computing in healthcare. The organization has established the Spatial Computing Center of Excellence to investigate the usefulness of Apple Vision Pro in managing real-time medical information for doctors, nurses, and specialists.
In collaboration with Epic, a leading provider of electronic health record systems, Sharp has deployed 30 Apple Vision Pro headsets to healthcare workers.
“We have invested in enough devices so that, right away, we can have physicians and nurses and informaticists and software developers and others start using it,” Dan Exley, Sharp’s vice president of clinical systems, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We want them to work with us to figure out which tasks and workflows it’s best for.”
A nursing manager could visualize the stats of all patients assigned to the nurses they oversee. Doctors could view a patient’s comprehensive medical history, x-rays, and body scans and quickly scan and select items with just a tap of their fingers.
The San Diego Union-Tribune notes one particularly interesting use case: an anesthesiologist could view critical information projected around the patient’s head rather than inconveniently located monitors. It would allow doctors to visually monitor patients and their vital stats concurrently.
Apple, for its part, also believes that doctors and surgeons could make use of the new device. Apple executive Mike Rockwell believes that surgeons could even use it during surgery.
While not affiliated with the Spatial Computing Center of Excellence, Dr. Tommy Korn tested the Apple Vision Pro and found it to be a helpful tool. However, he mentioned that patients should not expect their doctors to wear the headset during face-to-face meetings anytime soon.
According to Korn, if doctors wear a headset like the Apple Vision Pro while interacting with patients, it may reduce human interaction. He believes doctors could use it before patient meetings to get a deeper look at patients’ records, allowing them to focus less on in-room computer screens.
