MedTech entrepreneur Erik Maltais is leveraging virtual reality (VR) technology to make it easier for everyone to access healthcare specialists. Healthcare is an integral part of life but also a complex matter for people living far from hospitals or medical specialists. As the pandemic continues to drive people from cities to more isolated areas, accessing healthcare is turning more challenging.
VR is commonly used for playing video games, watching films or as tools for entertainment. Maltais realised the gap that still exists between VR and the medical world and he plans to change it. Working with his partner Jon Clagg, Maltais designed a virtual reality software that sees further than only entertainment and benefits the people. They built their award-winning company, Immertec, with a focus on the medical world.
Bringing Forth MedTech Innovation
The medical area Maltais is focused on is promising. Cedars-Sinai medical professionals said that virtual reality is a new frontier for healthcare innovation because it helps experts easily understand critical procedures and encourages empathy amongst healthcare providers, which drives progress. VR also provides individuals with a quick education about the conditions.
With VR, people can get hands-on experience about nearly anything. Years of practice and training is required to apply this tech into medicine to ensure that the patient, as well as, the practitioner stay safe. However, with proper training, limitless possibilities can be explored. Maltais’ system also offers healthcare specialists a different method to practice and hone their skills for emergencies.
Specialised Procedures are Now More Accessible
Surgeons and other medical experts can communicate, observe and collaborate in real-time with Immertec’s approach towards VR and healthcare. By using Medoptic, which is a specialised tech by Immertec, cameras are set in an operating room, and irrespective of the location, medical personnel can wear a VR headset and observe the ongoing procedure. Not only that but it also facilitates communicating with one another and zooming closer to the surgical site.
Virtual reality has made most of the innovative techniques and procedures accessible. Now, much more personnel can get close to surgical innovations and have better access to the advancements made in healthcare without being limited by the locations. The network latency of Immertec is lower than 500 milliseconds, which provides an upper hand in terms of speed as its competitors instead use simulations to train. Since everything is in real-time and such work is critical, a slight lag could become a large communication barrier.
Immertec deployed a pilot programme in 2019, which involved a leading medical device developer, and offers 3,000 doctors the way to access this technology.
Maltais said that the success of the company is a result of those behind the technology and the work ethics they follow. According to him, human need is the focal point of any form of technological innovation. This is what drives the company as they aim to address the most important needs of society and support the people with further development in the healthcare sector.