Introduction: Extended reality has the potential for many applications in healthcare. Education and training dominate the field, but in the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, technologies are evolving relatively rapidly and opening up new ways of training, treatment and care. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to review and present the field of augmented reality and existing applications used in healthcare. In addition, we want to present the existing augmented reality applications aimed at healthcare professionals and the applications used by patients in the treatment process. Methods: In this thesis we have used the descriptive method. We limited our search to literature published from 2016 to July 2023. The literature was searched in English and Slovenian with the keywords VR, XR, MR, AR, healthcare, patients, surgery, training, education, medicine, virtual reality, extended reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, XR app/XR app. We searched the Medline and ScienceDirect bibliographic databases and also used Google Scholar, PubMed and Cobiss bibliographic record search engines. We searched the web for existing XR applications using Google search. 45 applications and 54 literature sources were included in the work. Results: Extended reality is a useful complement to healthcare in the areas of education and training, diagnostics, surgery, chronic pain management, mental health treatment and physiotherapy. A total of 45 applications were reviewed, of which 26 offer virtual reality, 7 mixed reality and 14 augmented reality. Virtual reality requires a head-mounted display and a PC, augmented reality a smart device or head-mounted display and mixed reality a head-mounted display or smart glasses. In healthcare, the SimX virtual reality app, the HoloAnatomy mixed reality app and the Accuvein augmented reality app are widely used. However, extended reality raises several open questions, including safety, potential risks, accessibility and cost. Discussion and conclusion: The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic control measures have stimulated the introduction of augmented reality in healthcare education and training, resulting in fewer errors at work, continuous learning opportunities and upgrading of staff knowledge.
Educational institutions have been quick to respond, while other areas need further research and clinical studies to prove the effectiveness and safety of augmented reality technologies.
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