A small delegation of medical professionals from Israel’s field hospital ‘Kohav Meir’ arrived in Ukraine with stuffed animals, coloring pages, crayons, and a few medical-grade VR goggles to assist the war-torn refugees. The team had set up a base in a local elementary school in Mościska, Western Ukraine, to provide people with first-aid and mental health relief services.
The VR goggles, developed by the Israeli startup XRHealth, created a sudden change in the environment. The team put the VR goggles on a small boy that took him to a virtual reality experience of him swimming in an aquarium. Within seconds, his shyness and fear got replaced by excitement and happiness.
A vital aspect of the initiative is the mental treatment offered through Kohav Meir’s advanced technological and medical imaging capabilities. Moreover, the team’s medical-grade devices can enable doctors in Israel to perform complete physical examinations on Ukrainians through advanced imaging and advise medical staff on the necessary course of action.
“We’re changing the paradigm of humanitarian medicine,” said Dr. Galia Barkay, the Manager of Sheba Beyond, post returning to Israel after two weeks in Ukraine. “We can provide much higher quality medical services in the field, and it takes medical assistance eight steps forward.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a significant catalyst for advancing healthcare technologies. Post the initial wave, medical professionals worldwide began exploring more opportunities to make medicine accessible to everyone in their homes. This prompted the Sheba Medical Center, the largest hospital in Israel, to establish Sheba Beyond to bring hospital-grade treatment to anyone anywhere using innovative tech.
Such technologies for remote monitoring, physical examinations, and several other VR applications have provided excellent support for humanitarian medical services. They have enabled medical professionals to offer better quality medical services in the field by collaborating with senior experts for a more thorough analysis of the patients.
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