While those who are passionate about cutting-edge technology tend to be young, for virtual reality, the healthcare industry's main customer: the elderly, have the potential to be the first to benefit.
According to the XR Association's 2020 survey data, healthcare is the vertical that attracts the most attention from investment institutions. At the time, 38 percent of respondents believed that immersive interaction technology would be heavily used in the healthcare and medical device industries over the next 12 months.
In the report a year later, healthcare was the industry with the most changes from XR technology, recognized by 34% of respondents. At the same time, 40% of respondents still believe that the industry will continue to benefit from the development of new technologies in the coming year.
In addition to industry data, Forbes also observed that in fact, more and more elderly groups have begun to become early users of VR technology, and summarized and sorted out other VR innovation projects for the elderly in addition to health care.
According to the article, VR technology equipment can help the elderly population around the world to reduce loneliness, improve mental health, and allow the elderly who are confined to physical reasons to travel without leaving home to explore the world.
For China, which has a population of 260 million people over the age of 60 and faces the challenge of aging, these may have reference significance in the future. How new technologies can be used to benefit the elderly may also be an area worth exploring in the future.
The following is an excerpt of the main scenarios in the article:
Travel in a virtual world and reduce loneliness
In a highly aging Japanese society, some elderly people will have psychological problems in addition to being plagued by diseases. Crime, divorce, suicide, lonely death, etc. are all hot topics in the local media.
Kenta Toshima, a researcher from Tokyo, once worked in a nursing home for the elderly. Once, an elderly patient told him that he hoped to visit his favorite orchard once. So Toshima decided to go to the orchard to take pictures, but realized that simple forms such as photos and videos might not be enough to evoke good memories of each other, and had a flash of inspiration, thinking that they could shoot with a 360° panoramic camera, the field of view was wider and more realistic, and patients could wear VR eyes to explore the scenery of the orchard on their own. This approach has received very positive feedback.
Toshima found that VR technology is a great solution to the loneliness of the elderly, so he also began teaching the elderly in the community to use VR equipment to shoot 360° videos, bringing them back to places where they once had fond memories in the virtual world. Those elderly people who hope to go somewhere before they die, and who are still browsing the dream place in the virtual world, have completed their bucket list.
Toshima said, "VR travel makes up for the physical difficulties of the elderly, so that the elderly are more motivated to actively cooperate with rehabilitation treatment and improve the quality of life." Immersive virtual experiences give seniors access to the world beyond the nursing home, reducing anxiety and loneliness. ”
In addition, the elderly in the nursing home explore the world together with VR, and also spontaneously share their feelings and experiences in the virtual world with each other, which promotes interpersonal communication well, and the elderly will not feel lonely.
After that, Toshima shared his experience of using VR to explore new worlds with the elderly on Twitter, which resonated with many people and truly felt the benefits of technology in the lives of the elderly.
Source: Toshima's tweet
Promote the acceptance of new things by the elderly, such as moving
Older people are often more reluctant to leave their familiar places of residence. When it is necessary to move for the purpose of improving their lives and recuperating needs, the elderly are often very resistant. Make older people willing to accept the difficult decision to move, and maybe VR technology can help.
In order to improve the living facilities for the elderly and provide a more comfortable and spacious senior care experience, Cloverwood, a new nursing home institution, plans to build a new generation of high-end pension places called "Terraces at Cloverwood".
In order to make elderly customers willing to move, Cloverwood and house modeling marketing company Arnold Imaging have teamed up to construct an immersive virtual modeling of Terraces at Cloverwood, where seniors can wear VR eyes to tour the entire facility environment, and are often more willing to accept the decision to move when they see a more elegant, convenient and spacious new home in the future.
Image source: Rendever's official website
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the elderly population over the age of 65 in the United States will account for 16% of the U.S. population in 2020, and by 2030, baby boomers will all turn into an aging population, further increasing the proportion of aging in the United States.
Cloverwood's use of VR immersion experiences to introduce older customers to their new places of residence, allowing seniors to overcome their reluctance to accept change and their willingness to accept moving from the bottom of their hearts, is a very worthy reference.
Neuroscience research has also shown that when making a major decision, such as moving, our brains first extract the relevant positive or negative emotions and memories that have been stored before, and then compare them with the situation of the new decision, and if the situation under the new decision brings a positive experience, the brain is willing to accept the new decision, otherwise reject.
The above VR practice is precisely to create an excellent new decision-making experience for the elderly, which greatly enhances their willingness to move.
Adell Cuminale, senior marketing consultant at Cloverwood, said he hopes to use VR to enable seniors to see their new homes and communities and eliminate their fear of the unknown. VR can achieve realism and emotional arousal that traditional 2D technology cannot achieve, alleviating the moving anxiety of the elderly. Moreover, the enthusiasm of elderly customers for VR immersive experiences is extremely high, which completely breaks the stereotype that older people are reluctant to accept new technologies.
Break the sense of disconnect with society
Studies have shown that mental problems, such as social disconnection, loneliness, etc., are more seriously damaging to health than obesity and smoking, and are particularly pronounced in people over 50 years old. The sense of isolation brought about by social disconnection is destructive to personal health, equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Previously, AARP Innovation Labs, a non-profit organization in the United States, released a free VR application, Alcove, wherever you are, you can socialize with family or friends in the VR space.
Rendever, an American technology company that specializes in VR devices for the elderly, is also involved in the development of Alcove. As a startup dedicated to helping the aging population overcome social disconnects through VR, Rendever received a $2 million Phase II grant from the National Institute on Aging in August 2021 and launched RendeverFit, a fitness app specifically built for seniors, in January 2022 that incorporates physical health, cognitive health, and social elements to promote physical activity and further social integration for older adults.
In the near future, the establishment of our meta-universe will also allow more physically handicapped elderly people to participate in social issues through the virtual world, further releasing the potential of the elderly population.
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