VR in the OR Medical Realities announces first product at London Wearable Technology Conference - Medical Realities

Virtual reality has been around for some time now however the improvement in devices and associated haradware /software has made it more affordable and useful. As it has  gained traction and developers have begun to provide specific applications,  physicians and surgeons are now using it for recording and as a teaching tool.

Medical Realities announces first product at London Wearable Technology Conference

‘The Virtual Surgeon’. This is the first time anybody has captured a 360 degree video recording of a medical operation, designed to be viewed in virtual reality in the UK. The procedure was a laparoscopic right hemicolectomy and was performed at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London.

360 VR in OR

There are many high end consumer devices that can run VR software. A special head piece (separate) is also required.

Playstation 4 and XBOX One are VR capable, out of the box by adding a head set.
High end computer gaming machines can be further upgraded to support VR as well.
Devices such as

Some examples are found here:

Medical Realities announces first product at London Wearable Technology Conference - Medical Realities

Workspace-Transformation-for-Healthcare-Providers-

Physicians are faced with another assistant in the room. He.she sits on a desk, on a  rolling cart or in the hands of a provider.  Much like a child it is constantly asking questions of its master(s). It has an insatiable demand for  'more data'. It feeds voraciously its organ systems of chips, storage drives, and processors.

The doctor is in the room is partnered with a work station of varying design.  One form factor is not optimal for varying locations such as the bedside, office, operating room, or mobile.Some form factors require water and dirt protection, and perhaps even milspec ruggedization.   Functionality overrides aesthetics.

The computer is in the room as well. Ideally it does not detract from the patient experience. Some uses do not include a patient presence, such as radiology, biomedical labs or pathology laboratories.

We have learned that position is critical. Like bureaucrats they must not come between provider or patient, physically or in social interaction.

Workspace Transformation

MUSC Integrates Telehealth Visits with Epic EHR Via Vidyo

Most of the audience for DigitalHealth Space have implemented electronic health records in their pracitce.

During the past 12 months telehealth is growing exponentially.  This extension of your services requires an efficient means of incorporating and recording telehealth encounters MUSC incorporates this functionality with  Vidyo

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has simplified access to high quality remote consultations between clinicians and patients by deploying Epic’s telehealth and virtual care workflows tightly integrated with Vidyo’s real-time video communication platform. This solution creates a seamless workflow that makes it easier for doctors and patients to schedule, conduct video consults, record and access health information securely within the Epic portal. 

Virtual visits are the latest addition to MUSC’s robust telehealth portfolio that includes telestroke, tele-ICU, school based telehealth, medical home co-management, maternal fetal telemedicine, telemental health and other applications.

“Telehealth and virtual care are quickly becoming best practices for value based healthcare providers,” said Carl Dvorak, Epic President. “We have integrated real-time video directly into the EpicCare workflows of providers like MUSC and are proud of their accomplishments in transforming care delivery in their communities.”

MUSC leverages Epic’s integration of Vidyo into Epic HyperspaceTM and MyChartTM web and mobile applications to provide physicians and patients with a reliable, high quality and user-friendly way to connect face-to-face using mobile or desktop devices.

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is one of the first to deploy Epic integrated with Vidyo to bring healthcare to rural populations in the state. South Carolina’s large rural population and growing physician deficits have driven demand for improved access to care via telehealth practices. MUSC has leveraged technology from Vidyo for high quality video collaboration to meet the needs of underserved populations across the state for several years.

Vidyo’s range of healthcare customers including Kaiser Permanente (also a Vidyo investor), Mass General and Partners, UPMC and Mayo Clinic. Only Vidyo has been fully integrated in the clinician and patient portal to facilitate seamless, workflow-friendly video consults. 

MUSC Integrates Telehealth Visits with Epic EHR Via Vidyo

The great question of the 21st century: Whose black box do you trust? - O'Reilly Media

Some years ago, John Mattison, the chief medical information officer of Kaiser Permanente, the large integrated health provider, said, "The great question of the 21st century is going to be 'Whose black box do you trust?'"

Mattison was talking about the growing importance of algorithms in medicine, but his point, more broadly, was that we increasingly place our trust in systems whose methods for making decisions we do not understand. (A black box, by definition, is a system whose inputs and outputs are known, but the system by which one is transformed to the other is unknown.)

A lot of attention has been paid to the role of algorithms in shaping the experience of consumers. Much less attention has been paid to the role of algorithms in shaping the incentives for business decision-making.

Eli Pariser warned of a "filter bubble," in which the algorithm takes account of our preferences and continues to feed us more of what we already want to hear, rather than exposing us to other points of view. This is a real risk—though one that search engines and social media companies are making efforts to overcome.

But there's a deeper, more pervasive risk that came out in a conversation I had recently with Chris O'Brien of VentureBeat.  

As Warren Buffet is reputed to have said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

Because many of the algorithms that shape our society are black boxes—either for reasons like those cited by Facebook, or because they are, in the world of deep learning, inscrutable even to their creators—that question of trust is key.

Understanding how to evaluate algorithms without knowing the exact rules they follow is a key discipline in today's world. And it is possible. Here are four rules for evaluating whether you can trust an algorithm:

1. Its creators have made clear what outcome they are seeking, and it is possible for external observers to verify that outcome.
2. Success is measurable.
3. The goals of the algorithm's creators are aligned with the goals of the algorithm's consumers.
4. Does the algorithm lead its creators and its users to make better longer term decisions?