Sep 30, 2019
HoloPractice: the platform to learn and use Extended Reality in the Health and Wellness industry
By Christopher Lafayette (Founder and CEO of The Armada T.E.C.H. — Speaker at EICS 2019)
When asked to speak at EICS 2019 to discuss Extended Reality in the Health and Wellness industry, I happily accepted. I knew it was at this time that I reveal a platform I have been working on for some time.
HoloPractice: a new community and business platform in which, I’m happy to write about here.
However, before I delve into the subject matter, I’d like to extend a hand of gratitude to platforms such as European Immersive Computing Summit that have taken the time to hear from diverse perspectives of individuals around the world who are building and contributing to the development of XR each and everyday. It’s of the leadership of platforms such as EICS that helps make our industries stronger and abundantly actualized.
What’s in a moment? Death? Life?
For years now I’ve been studying various emergent technologies and applied sciences. Of which, Extended Reality has been a particular focus-endeavor. I’ve been watching to better understand in its native positioning, growth-to-current standings and more importantly, where it’s particular ecosystem is heading. Within the extended reality realm, we’ve known for some time which industries could benefit and are most likely to early adopt: aviation, manufacturing, entertainment, automotive, sports, construction, fashion, medical, so-forth-and-so-on. Of these industry verticals, I considered the medical industry to be the most challenging, telling and narratively speaking, the widest of them all for use-case data extraction and overall XR for good. With this intrigue of more than just curiosity, I began to explore the past and present uses of virtual and augmented reality in the health and wellness industry as a whole.
In my studies, I’ve come to find that from the 80s on, there’s been those who’ve been studying and exploring the relationship been cognitive perception of virtual space to the human mind and how to optimize hardware to optimize these experiences. Decades in, we’ve been seeing those who’ve been taking the research of the human body and spatial computing technology to better understand what could be understood, seen and amplified using virtual reality headsets, haptics and augmented reality in the medical arena with the best, physical, psychological, environmental, hypo and hyper real focus of fidelity.
Currently, the spaces in which we’re definitely seeing some of the best focus-areas for XR use are:
1. Virtual Reality for PTSD therapy treatment.
2. Empathy Engines: using virtual reality to simulate what patience experience with various and different diseases. Ranges of diseases could be anywhere from Dementia to Alzheimer’s.
3. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Pain Therapy: Burn Victims, Needle Shots to patience.
4. Breathing resuscitation simulation training.
5. CT Scan Disease augmentation of the human body
6. Surgical theatre training and development.
7. Hospital simulation training.
8. Cadaver simulation training.
9. Anatomical exploration.
10. The Immersive heart and cell body.
With these ten particular focus points, and seeing that hospitals and universities have adopted such studies of practice, there are dozens more to add to this list of areas that are happening now. This is just simply ten quick examples that come to mind.
EXPANDED PERSPECTIVE
I have the pleasure of traveling around the United States and Europe, from speaking with people from Asia and Southeast Asia, Africa and other parts of the world to see what they’re focused on, what they’re building. From my vantage point I’ve been so fortunate to have seen so much of what’s being built in the world.
I began to realize that I’ve been given such a unique vantage view, that it’s best to find a way for others to be able to also see what’s being produced and developed. Right now, makers, surgeons, doctors, specialists, health practitioners, builders, thought leaders, drivers and technologists are scattered quite literally around the world, hunkered down crafting, experimenting and exploring amazing XR technologies.
Many of these businesses and people do not enjoy large audiences to communicate there steps of development to. And so, the lingering question is, how do we bring to surface these individuals, teams and companies? How do we enable their voices of development to be seen and heard?
Well, my contributive answer is what I call, HoloPractice.
The HoloPractice is a private incubator community of builders, makers, creatives, visionaries and health & wellness professionals who have the desire to explore and create advanced XR platforms for market or experiential development.
CONCLUSION
There is great technology being built around the world, in which no one even knows about. Though I am one person of considerable bandwidth to help bridge obsolescent status to viewership, I cannot do this alone.
More collaboration and community development is essential for emergent technical growth as a whole. The majority of the worlds spatial computing platforms that are being built aren’t the large and significant unicorn company contributors. It’s actually the people you’ve never heard of. I’m a huge fan of Oculus, Vive, Magic Leap and other Immersive platforms. However, we cannot ignore the people I hear from everyday that are building with the little they have. The geniuses working out of garages, cars, hotel rooms and hacker-spaces.
We must build bridges for their work to be seen. I opt for the best of what is being built in Medtech, and to help make these platforms known. I’m exploring for explorers and at the same time, building deep in the trenches of lab to share globally the things myself and others are incubating.
What’s in a moment? Everything.
Build Strong.
