Extended Reality for Enhanced Telehealth During and Beyond COVID-19: Viewpoint

Triton Ong; Hattie Wilczewski; Samantha R Paige; Hiral Soni; Brandon M Welch; Brian E Bunnell

doi:10.2196/26520

Extended Reality for Enhanced Telehealth During and Beyond COVID-19: Viewpoint

JMIR Serious Games. 2021 Jul 26;9(3):e26520. doi: 10.2196/26520.

Authors

Triton Ong¹, Hattie Wilczewski¹, Samantha R Paige¹, Hiral Soni¹, Brandon M Welch^{1

2}, Brian E Bunnell^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Doxy.me, LLC, Rochester, NY, United States.
² Biomedical Informatics Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.

PMID: 34227992
PMCID: PMC8315161
DOI: 10.2196/26520

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread challenges and revealed vulnerabilities across global health care systems. In response, many health care providers turned to telehealth solutions, which have been widely embraced and are likely to become standard for modern care. Immersive extended reality (XR) technologies have the potential to enhance telehealth with greater acceptability, engagement, and presence. However, numerous technical, logistic, and clinical barriers remain to the incorporation of XR technology into telehealth practice. COVID-19 may accelerate the union of XR and telehealth as researchers explore novel solutions to close social distances. In this viewpoint, we highlight research demonstrations of XR telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss future directions to make XR the next evolution of remote health care.

Keywords: COVID-19; augmented reality; extended reality; mixed reality; telehealth; telemedicine; telepresence; virtual reality.

©Triton Ong, Hattie Wilczewski, Samantha R Paige, Hiral Soni, Brandon M Welch, Brian E Bunnell. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (https://games.jmir.org), 26.07.2021.