About this Research Topic
The adoption of cutting-edge technologies has been slower in Healthcare than other industries. There are several reasons for this, such as; the high risk involved in unproven technology when dealing with human life; the concern of loss of the “human touch;” and data compliance and privacy concerns. Despite this, the changing landscape of Healthcare, particularly in light of the challenges imposed by the global pandemic, have shown that there are real opportunities for advances in Healthcare through the use of Immersive Technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and immersive games. These technologies can have a transformative impact on healthcare, both mental and physical (medical) health in areas such as training healthcare providers, rehabilitation, surgery, communication, telemedicine, and others.
For this Research Topic, we welcome submissions of original research and reviews related to immersive technology and healthcare:
- Design and evaluation of immersive technology tools or applications for the prevention, diagnosis, and/or treatment of physical health [*] or medical conditions.
- Design and evaluation of immersive technology (including collaborative immersive technology) tools or applications for education and training of healthcare providers in the support, prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of physical health or medical conditions.
- Design and evaluation of other technologies (digital media, games, mobile apps, internet of things, physical simulators) in addition to immersive technologies to improve healthcare providers training and/or patient outcomes.
- Potential impact (socio-cultural, economic and environmental) of immersive technologies for health support.
- Challenges and risks in applying immersive technologies for healthcare support.
- Opportunities for advancing research and practice in the healthcare sector with focus on physical health using immersive technologies.
- Case studies reporting on patient or clinical use of immersive technologies.
- Addressing diversity, inclusion, cultural, and ethical issues in healthcare using immersive technologies
- Other topics related to the use of immersive technologies for healthcare education and/or with patients.
We are also very interested in research describing the use of immersive technology for supporting the delivery of high-quality healthcare services in underserved population groups with limited access to conventional healthcare.
[*] the term physical health is used to differentiate from mental health, and to refer to healthy people or patients who are not suffering from any type of sickness.
For this Research Topic, we welcome submissions of original research and reviews related to immersive technology and healthcare:
- Design and evaluation of immersive technology tools or applications for the prevention, diagnosis, and/or treatment of physical health [*] or medical conditions.
- Design and evaluation of immersive technology (including collaborative immersive technology) tools or applications for education and training of healthcare providers in the support, prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of physical health or medical conditions.
- Design and evaluation of other technologies (digital media, games, mobile apps, internet of things, physical simulators) in addition to immersive technologies to improve healthcare providers training and/or patient outcomes.
- Potential impact (socio-cultural, economic and environmental) of immersive technologies for health support.
- Challenges and risks in applying immersive technologies for healthcare support.
- Opportunities for advancing research and practice in the healthcare sector with focus on physical health using immersive technologies.
- Case studies reporting on patient or clinical use of immersive technologies.
- Addressing diversity, inclusion, cultural, and ethical issues in healthcare using immersive technologies
- Other topics related to the use of immersive technologies for healthcare education and/or with patients.
We are also very interested in research describing the use of immersive technology for supporting the delivery of high-quality healthcare services in underserved population groups with limited access to conventional healthcare.
[*] the term physical health is used to differentiate from mental health, and to refer to healthy people or patients who are not suffering from any type of sickness.
Keywords: Healthcare Simulation, Healthcare Training, Patient Outcomes, Patient Rehabilitation, Healthcare Education
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
