ARTICLE SUMMARY:
There is some evidence that digital therapies built on virtual reality and augmented reality video display technologies offer therapeutic benefits across a wide range of conditions, although at this early stage, large randomized, controlled trials are scarce. We look at the potential impact VR/AR could have on healthcare delivery, and we profile two up-and-coming competitors on the VR therapeutics side: AppliedVR and XRHealth.
The digital health revolution has the potential to transform healthcare as we know it, and it is being driven in large part by technology innovations that originated in the consumer sector. As consumer demand intensifies for a more convenient, connected, and transparent healthcare experience, the tech industry is responding in kind. People can now monitor their heart rhythm with an ECG-enabled smart watch, have a primary care visit on their mobile phone, collect and transmit vital signs data from the comfort of their home, or use any of a long list of smartphone apps offering everything from fertility tracking/prediction to skin cancer detection.
