The 1,350-bed Amrita Hospital, Kochi has developed a first-of-its-kind Extended Reality (XR)-supported ecosystem in healthcare, which leverages augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies to significantly enhance capabilities in patient care, medical training, and research.

Mahesh Kappanayil, Professor, Paediatric Cardiologist and Lead at 3D Labs, Amrita Hospital, Kochi, said the implementation of extended reality application is the result of several years of extensive work by the team of researchers. The technology has already been deployed in the treatment of 150 patients, with excellent outcomes. The extended reality was initially popularised in the gaming industry. It was a big challenge to overcome the complexity of integrating gaming technologies into medicine. This achievement builds upon Amrita Hospital’s existing 3D lab and 3D printing capabilities and sets up the first-ever point-of-care virtual reality lab.

The extended reality-supported system developed by Amrita Hospital allows medical professionals to visualise organs as holograms, enabling the delivery of patient-specific, precision medicine, he said.

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By embracing metaverse concepts and utilising patient data, such as CT scans, the XR system allows doctors to understand complex defects, precisely plan difficult surgeries, and collaborate with their counterparts from anywhere in the world, leveraging remote connectivity to discuss patient cases and develop treatment plans.

“We are planning to further enhance the capabilities of the XR system by adding immersive teaching tools for medical students, telemedicine operations, and enhanced remote connectivity.” Towards these ends, Amrita Hospital is working closely with industry leaders like Microsoft India and other developers”, he said.

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Amrita Hospital houses India’s first “point of care” medical 3D printing and virtual reality laboratory. This advanced facility is one of the few of its kind and is now being utilised by multiple medical specialities to provide precision and personalised medicine to patients.

“We have been focusing on providing the best healthcare to all for over 25 years. Sense of fulfilment and happiness is heightened when we are empowered to provide exceptional patient care through the utilisation of advanced technologies. This not only benefits the patients but also contributes to the growth and development of future doctors, enabling them to acquire a deeper understanding of various medical situations and gain valuable learning experiences,” said Prem Nair, Group Medical Director, Amrita Hospitals.

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