A new report on the value of XR (extended reality) in healthcare points to significant opportunities for the UK, highlighting cost savings and better patient outcomes stemming from the transformative use of immersive technology.
"The growing value of XR in healthcare in the UK" report launches May 18th and is the first white paper of its kind to explore the use of extended reality (XR) including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the UK’s healthcare sector today. The report identifies its potential value through exploring the impact on human health and estimating the potential cost savings to the UK healthcare system.
In partnership with Health Education England, UKRI and Rescape and supported by NIHR Mental Health MedTech Co-operative - MindTech, Sheffield Hallam University - Impact VRLab and XR Safety Initiative (XRSI), the report highlights the changing face of healthcare technologies. AR and VR are revolutionising the global healthcare market, demonstrating impact, value and efficiencies in new ways, accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
MindTech’s Michael Craven and Aislinn Bergin were commissioned to write two chapters on the Clinical Mental Health applications of XR and Health Economics. MindTech has direct experience of state of the art in mental health applications thanks to its collaboration on gameChange and its involvement in research on the ProReal platform. For this report MindTech collated this experience, and for the health economics drew on case studies from across healthcare which included the recent deployment of virtual reality in rehabilitation and podiatry NHS services.
The predicted market growth of the AR healthcare is expected to generate US$10 billion in revenues with the VR Healthcare market reaching US$1.2 billion in 2024, (ABI Research Oct 7th, 2020). There is a growing but world-class XR in healthcare market emerging in the UK, however, despite the significant market potential, more evidence is needed to measure the benefits to patients and value to the healthcare system in order to leverage wider funding and the investment needed to grow a sustainable and thriving XR in healthcare sector in the UK.
The report delves into use cases of XR in healthcare across a number of key application areas rehabilitation and physiotherapy, pain management, clinical mental health, arts & wellbeing and healthcare professional training The report showcases the people and projects innovating in this space and to demonstrate the health economics in clinical and non-clinical settings.
'I spent years working with people who weren’t able to leave their home. Their whole experience of life was the four walls surrounding them. I was able to use a VR headset to enable them to go to the beach or the park. Everytime I talk to someone about VR they have another user case for this technology. We need someone to step up and take the lead on healthcare based VR.' - Ben Williams Project Lead Care City
As part of the report recommendations, a new XR in Healthcare Development Pipeline has been proposed which would see key stakeholders such as NHSx, UKRI and others, work together to support a new Centre of Excellence for XR in Healthcare to cross sector collaboration across research, technology and healthcare to drive much needed early-stage R&D and help products and services scale at the level needed to reach the marketplace.
The report findings will help government and public health services make informed decisions about what needs to be put in place to ensure the UK is in the best position possible to fully exploit the potential of XR in healthcare today and ultimately improve patient outcomes and the quality of people's lives into the future.
The Growing Value of XR in Healthcare in the UK Report launches May 18th. Read the report here. It is the first of its kind to explore the use of XR in the UK’s healthcare sector today.
https://www.xrhealthuk.org/
This report has been created by;
Ross O Brien, Associate Director of Innovation and Technology, CNWL NHS, Sarah Ticho, XR Health Specialist, Hatsumi Fiona Kilkelly, Independent Industry Specialist in XR.
Health Education England
Health Education England’s Technology Enhanced Learning (HEE TEL) team provides a range of services that enables the application of learning technologies and simulation-based education within HEE and across the health and care workforce to support education and training to improve patient care.
UKRI
Our organisation brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England, which is responsible for supporting research and knowledge exchange at higher education institutions in England, and the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK
Rescape
Rescape sells its solution, DR.VR, into the NHS, Care Homes and Hospices. DR.VR is a virtual reality distraction therapy solution that primarily supports pain relief, anxiety/stress and improves patient’s experience. During the pandemic ReScape developed DR.VR Frontline reducing anxiety of NHS frontline staff with trials showing success helping ICU staff. DR.VR has also been shown delivering a cost effective training solution into the care and blue light services.
NIHR Mental Health MedTech Co-operative - MindTech
MindTech is a national centre focussing on the development, adoption and evaluation of new technologies for mental health care and dementia. Established in 2013, Mindtech are funded by the National Institute for Healthcare Research to work in partnership with healthcare professionals, patients and the public, researchers and industry.
Sheffield Hallam University - Impact VRLab
The Impact VR Lab develops VR scenarios that offer the potential to improve lives. They are based at Sheffield Hallam University's Research Institute, one of the UK’s largest and most diverse universities: a community of more than 30,000 students, 4,000 staff and more than 200,000 alumni around the globe.
XR Safety Initiative XRSI XRSI is viewed by many stakeholders as a necessary component of proactively anticipating and addressing the cybersecurity challenges faced by globally dispersed researchers when establishing baseline standards and discovery of novel cyber attacks in emerging technologies.
For more information please contact
Sarah Ticho and Fiona Kilkelly
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