Lately, if we were asked the question “Which of the innovations spoken in the world of technology attracts your attention the most?”, most of us would answer that question with “Metaverse”.
Metaverse, which could be considered as the new generation internet, means beyond the universe by combining the Greek word meta meaning “after, beyond” with the English “universe” meaning universe. Although its original name is Meta-Universe, it is used in the world as Metaverse.
Discussions and ideas about the Metaverse’s position in the digital world have already been on the agenda for several years. It is said that American Author Neal Stephenson is the first person with his novel named Snow Cash to come up with this concept. Stephenson called the three-dimensional virtual world “Metaverse” in his novel, where avatars of real people take place.
This exciting topic caught more people’s attention with the statement made last July by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of the popular name Facebook. Zuckerberg said that by ceasing to be a social media company within five years, they aim to become a Metaverse company. Not long after this announcement, it was announced that Facebook was rebranded as Meta Inc.
For many people, it may not be easy to visualize what is meant by the metaverse, which is full of obscurity. Therefore, we can think of this concept as a new digital world where the real and digital world are combined with science fiction, which will create a powerful change in our lives in the near future.
In order for the concept to be understandable at this point, Mark Zuckerberg says the following:
“The Metaverse will enable us to tap into creative, social and economic opportunities. People will be able to do anything they can imagine with Metaverse. They will be able to beam as a hologram (a laser representation of an object or person) to the office, to the concert, to their distant family.”
It’s really exciting isn’t it? The innovations that Metaverse, which some people describe as a “crazy transformation”, will bring to the development of human health, are also quite curious. Thereby, I think that it is important for us as medical academics and physicians to follow the developments on the subject.
- Some information about the current state and prospects of the health sector on the way to the Metaverse are as follows:
- Metaverse is expected to combine technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), the Internet of medical devices, Web 3.0, cloud computing, quantum computing with robotic science, creating potential in healthcare, as well as reducing costs in healthcare.
- Metaverse was already starting to leave its mark on healthcare.
- Augmented reality VR (Virtual reality) today offers medical students and healthcare professionals hands-on learning techniques about the human body. It provides a 360 degree view of diseases. Medical schools are increasingly incorporating AR into their education programs. It is said in a report by Grand View Research that the global augmented reality market size was $17.67 billion dollars in the year 2020.
- With the integration of Metaverse, a more realistic and immersive experience feeling can be created in which medical students and their assistants will feel as if they are doing the surgery themselves with virtual reality during the learning process.
- Metaverse’s gamification technologies are expected to increase health communication by bringing healthcare providers and patients together, and healthcare professionals are expected to come together on a global scale and receive simultaneous training. A company called Veyond Metaverse has taken a step forward in this regard and started using advanced cloud and real-time communication technology.
- New ways of dealing with health problems such as removal of cancerous tumors or a complex spine surgery more effectively are desired.
Gamification technologies are still limited in applications such as healthy life and fitness. Metaverse is expected to produce solutions such as virtual trainers and smart exercises.
As it seems that, Metaverse will create a very powerful change in our lives in the near future. It will allow us to dream more and turn them into benefits in many areas.
I recommend those who are interested in the subject to watch the movie Ready Player One, directed by Steven Speielberg, in order to enact what can be done in the digital world, just like in real life.
This 2018 movie is adapted from the book of American writer Ernest Cline. So you can read the book if you wish.
We are looking forward to Metaverse’s technologies and applications that will make a difference in improving health services.
Prof. Halil Coşkun M.D.