Virtuele gezondheidszorg

Innovative technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) are no longer only interesting for a niche of gamers but are increasingly being applied within healthcare. Possible applications for VR in care vary from exposure therapy for PTSD and anxiety disorders to aiding in cognitive and physical rehabilitation. VR has also acquired an important role in medical education. AR/MR are used predominantly within surgery, for instance for perioperative projection of patient information, holographic images and scans. Despite the absence of large randomized trials and cost-effectiveness studies, it seems just a matter of time before doctors embrace these innovative technologies. The digitalization of healthcare has, after all, already started.

Conflict of interest and financial support: potential conflicts of interest have been reported for this article. ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online, along with the full text of this article.