East Gippslanders are the first people in the world to experience the latest advance in virtual medicine thanks to augmented reality technology pioneered by the Bairnsdale Regional Health Service (BRHS) that brings specialised healthcare to remote communities.
BRHS has invested in 12 Microsoft HoloLens units that will be distributed to health centres across East Gippsland following the successful trial of the technology at the Dargo Bush Nursing Centre.
Microsoft HoloLens is already used in the military and in the construction industry, but it’s believed this trial is the first time that HoloLens has been used in medicine – and it’s already proving to deliver better health and personal outcomes for patients that use it.
HoloLens allows a doctor in Bairnsdale, Melbourne or anywhere else in the world to consult with a patient and a nurse or doctor in a holographic consulting room.
In the case of a patient requiring on going wound care, for example, mapping technology within the HoloLens units allows a specialist to trace the extent of the wound, assess how it’s healing and, using their index fingers, draw a virtual diagram on the patient’s wound to direct local clinicians on next treatment steps – all without an inperson examination.
IMAGE: Bairnsdale Regional Health nurses, Bron and Cat, modelling the Microsoft HoloLens headsets that will be distributed across healthcare centres in East Gippsland – the first HoloLenses in the world to be used in medicine.
