Mark Gregot, co-founder, and CEO, NuEyes, wanted to create augmented reality (AR) smart glasses for people who have low vision or are vision impaired. He co-opted the technology from his time in the US Navy to make a prototype in 2013. Four years later, the NuEyes smart glasses are built on the ODG R-7 platform with $1.2 Million in investment from angel investors under their belt. The company also has a major national insurance carrier that now covers up to 50 percent of the cost of the product which makes it more affordable for the visually impaired.
One of NuEye's users is nine year old Felix, who is legally blind due to a rare disease. These smart glasses bring the outside world into focus for Felix. Felix can see spots of color, but he can't see facial expressions or objects in a room. The NuEyes smart glasses let Felix see the faces of his classmates and the blackboard in the classroom so he can have a meaningful learning experience like his classmates.
With the advances in technology, VR, AR and artificial intelligence (AI) will create entirely new applications in healthcare. According to a 2017 global healthcare sector outlook by Deloitte, the top ten technology innovations that will bring more value for less in health care are next-generation sequencing, 3D-printed devices, immunotherapy, AI, point-of-care diagnostics, VR, social media, biosensors and trackers, convenient care and telehealth.
The race to capture the three trillion dollar healthcare industry has already started with companies like Google and Apple acquiring health tech companies and fine-tuning their own platforms for smart glasses and other personal mobile diagnostic devices like a blood glucose monitors. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2017, SAP CEO, Bill McDermott emphasized personalized, precision medicine through technology will be the future of the healthcare industry and moving it from a primarily analog experience to a digital one.
But instead of waiting for the future, there are already healthcare organizations using VR to improve the everyday lives of people like Felix. At Maplewood Senior Living in Connecticut, the residential facility is using VR to create immersive experiences to help residents with cognitive impairment and dementia unlock memories and stimulate emotions and interaction.
"We're using VR for the sheer experiential value of creating these immersive 360-degree experiences," said Greg Smith, CEO, Maplewood Senior Living. "We want to be able to provide a wow experience beyond the healthcare application because anyone can enjoy the experience of being within a virtual reality world."
"But the second use of VR at Maplewood is the cognitive and dementia application, which includes expanding a resident’s ability to expand their world beyond the walls of the community and have them feel like they are there," added Smith. "In memory care, in particular, we are looking to tap into memory and emotions through the content and to have the impact of that experience last overtime."
Smith says this is precisely what they see now.
"Virtual reality is decreasing agitation, frustration, anxiety and depression and increasing engagement and happiness," says Smith. "We are seeing it happen anecdotally and are working on proving it through long-term research."
On the education front, Fujitsu has made a virtual reality (VR) heart simulator that will give students a 360-degree simulation of the human heart. The simulation models will let students see true-to-life muscle activity, specific networks of blood vessels and recreate conditions such as cardiac infarction, which will also enable students to see for themselves excitation propagation between a normal heart and a diseased heart. The VR heart simulators are used in electrocardiogram lectures for third-year medical students at the University of Tokyo.
Fujitsu plans to commercialize the VR heart simulator by March 2018 as an educational tool which the company hopes will contribute to the advancement of medicine through technology.
Pear Therapeutics, a digital therapeutics company that delivers digital therapies for opiate disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia, received FDA clearance to market their mobile medical application device which has a VR component, Reset, to treat substance use disorder (SUD). This is the first prescription digital therapeutic approved by the FDA. In 2016, approximately 20.1 million people aged 12 or older had a SUD related to their use of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year.
"FDA approval for prescription digital therapeutics using virtual reality moves the use of this technology beyond the noise in the market and creating scalable, affordable digital tools that work for patients," said Beth Rogozinski, Chief Content Officer, Pear Therapeutics. "It’s a very good day for digital therapeutics and a great day for Pear - and most importantly - the patients we seek to serve."
Michael Keegan, Deputy President of TechUK and Head of Product Business, Fujitsu EMEIA says that at the end of the day, the benefits of applying technology could see lives saved.
"Innovation will be entirely wasted if no impact is made in society. Technology is changing how every sector operates but improving the end-users experience is all that matters," said Keegan. "Whether it’s improved healthcare or creative new learning methods, technology will revolutionize how businesses operate."
____
This article was updated to reflect the current platform that NuEyes runs on.
