Virtual and Augmented Reality in Cardiovascular Care: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Christian Jung; Georg Wolff; Bernhard Wernly; Raphael Romano Bruno; Marcus Franz; P Christian Schulze; Jennifer N Avari Silva; Jonathan R Silva; Deepak L Bhatt; Malte Kelm

doi:10.1016/j.jcmg.2021.08.017

Virtual and Augmented Reality in Cardiovascular Care: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2022 Mar;15(3):519-532. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2021.08.017. Epub 2021 Oct 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Vascular Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany. Electronic address: christian.jung@med.uni-duesseldorf.de.
² Division of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Vascular Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
³ Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Paracelsus Medical University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany.
⁵ Pediatric Cardiology Division, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in Saint Louis, School of Medicine, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; SentiAR, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Engineering, McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; SentiAR, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁷ Brigham and Women's Hospital Heart and Vascular Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/DLBHATTMD.
⁸ Division of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Vascular Medicine, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Cardiovascular Research Institute Duesseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.

PMID: 34656478
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2021.08.017

Abstract

Applications of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) assist both health care providers and patients in cardiovascular education, complementing traditional learning methods. Interventionalists have successfully used VR to plan difficult procedures and AR to facilitate complex interventions. VR/AR has already been used to treat patients, during interventions in rehabilitation programs and in immobilized intensive care patients. There are numerous additional potential applications in the catheterization laboratory. By using AR, interventionalists could combine visual fluoroscopy information projected and registered on the patient body with data derived from preprocedural imaging and live fusion of different imaging modalities such as fluoroscopy with echocardiography. Persistent technical challenges to overcome include the integration of different imaging modalities into VR/AR and the harmonization of data flow and interfaces. Cybersickness might exclude some patients and users from the potential benefits of VR/AR. Critical ethical considerations arise in the application of VR/AR in vulnerable patients. In addition, digital applications must not distract physicians from the patient. It is our duty as physicians to participate in the development of these innovations to ensure a virtual health reality benefit for our patients in a real-world setting. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current and future role of VR and AR in different fields within cardiology, its challenges, and perspectives.

Keywords: augmented reality; cardiovascular care; imaging; virtual reality.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Augmented Reality*
Fluoroscopy
Humans
Predictive Value of Tests
Virtual Reality*