Sujith Vasudevan, Managing Editor
 

Monitoring your calorie intake is an inevitable part of your healthcare and fitness journey. The more accurate readings, the better. Apple recently filed a patent for a unique way of calorie intake counting, which is said to be on its way to the brand’s recently launched AR headset. According to the patent, the microphone on the AR headset is programmed to listen for ‘chewing noise.’ When the headset detects the chewing action by a user, it will trigger a response from the camera unit. The camera will immediately capture image data of the food. Sophisticated algorithms on the company’s dedicated operating system for AR/ VR, RealityOS, will use machine learning to help identify the food product based on this image data.

It is beyond any reasonable doubt Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are transforming healthcare. Software applications like ‘Touch Surgery,’ which gives doctors a view of the patient's physique and physiology using virtual reality, significantly contribute to this trend. On the other hand, the growing demand for storing patient data and medical images on the AR/VR platform (which reduces the need for expensive screens and extra staff) and AR/VR-based medical staff education and training are also driving this trend.

According to a report by Market Research Future (MRFR), the global AR and VR market within healthcare is expected to reach $6.94 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 42.42 percent. When it comes to India, AR in healthcare market size alone is expected to reach Rs.2,528.69 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 24.53 percent during the 2023 - 2027 period. One of the major attractions of the technology is that it is advantageous to both patients and doctors—the same accounts for its huge potential. We present our yearly AR/VR special issue.