Preface
The book is divided into three chapters and sixteen sections, which are introduced, discussed, and enjoyed in the order of yesterday, today, and tomorrow from the perspective of general knowledge, science popularization and professionalism. The first chapter is general knowledge, divided into three sections, mainly introducing why metaverse in medical (MM) is needed, what is MM, and how MM was born? Although it is the least length of the three chapters, it is the most important. Because this is the first in the world to propose a MM definition, lead the consensus guide and create the International Association and Alliance for MM in the future, not only will we have the right to speak, but also continue to retain the right to plan and command.
The second chapter is popular science, talking about whether the metaverse can reshape medical treatment? It is divided into five sections. Respectively, the background of MM, the basic Internet of Things in medicine of MM, the point, line, and surface technology of the MM platform, how to use the concept of meta-universe to shape good doctors and good craftsmen? Cultivate famous doctors and doctors, as well as reshape new medical models. Among them, the important innovation is how to construct and apply the ability of the Internet of Things and the metaverse to empower master-apprentice inheritance, especially the integration of declarative and procedural knowledge, which greatly reduces learning pressure and improves cognitive ability, and improves the level of homogeneous medical treatment. To enable every doctor (especially GPs) to easily and quickly remember, learn well and learn more. This will subvert and empower our current model of continuing medical education and mentor-apprentice inheritance training talents, which can has the effect of achieving more with doing less.
The third chapter is professionalism, which is divided into eight sections to enjoy the future of MM. Although it is about the future, part of it has come. These include the design of future application scenarios for MM, the foundations that have been established today, and how these foundations can be applied to achieve the future. Based on the author’s own work foundation and dreams, he boldly enjoyed how to build a metaversal hospital? How to use the meta-universe concept to do a good job in health management and telemedicine? It then shared the concept of MM to manage, diagnose and treat important diseases that five authors are familiar with. This includes how to detect early stage of lung cancer from pulmonary nodules so that patients can be completely cured or survive for more than a decade. How to manage and treat patients with acute asthma attacks, how to diagnose and treat acute respiratory distress syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea. Finally, they also enjoyed the use of the MM model to diagnose and treat the disease with the highest incidence of common cold, including how to help patients diagnose and manage colds, and how to help GPs diagnose and treat colds in special groups. In order to achieve the effect of “new opportunities for the MM, face the zero distance of famous doctors, virtual and real interaction plus quality control, and human-machine integration without enemy”, and finally realize the vision of “MM’s treatment of pre-existing diseases, and great doctors benefiting all sentient beings”.
In view of the fact that MM, even Internet of Things medicine is a new thing, still under discussion and development, coupled with the idea and all the chapters of this book are planned and completed by the author alone, there are inevitably shortcomings and errors, readers and experts are welcome to point out of them, and welcome you to actively participate in the world’s first international MM association and alliance led by the Chinese to realize the Chinese dream. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Zhou Jian and Dr. Dawei Yang, who designed and revised some of the illustrations for this book, as well as my family for their support, which enabled me to successfully complete the book alone during the two-month epidemic.
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John’s Proposed Version (Based from personal understanding of the limited Baidu Chinese-English translation and reference search)
Preface
The book contains sixteen sections grouped into three main chapters namely Introduction, Technology and Applications – each conceptually representing the past, present and the future.
The first chapter is divided into three sections primarily introducing Metaverse in Medicine (MM) – why it is needed, what it is truly about, and how it was developed. Despite being the shortest, this chapter presents the most important advancements made thus far in the pioneering field of MM including its formal definition in the context of digital healthcare, establishment of regulatory guidelines and the founding of the International Association and Alliance of Metaverse in Medicine (IAMM), the leading international organization dedicated to realizing the next disruptive revolution in medicine – the metaverse.
The second chapter tackles all the technological aspects of metaverse and its potential in reshaping the dynamics in medical treatment. Discussed respectively in each of the five sections are the technical overview of MM including its synergy with Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), its application platform, its role in medical education and its impact on the overall system of healthcare delivery. In particular, the convergence of both IoMT and metaverse, among other technologies, conceptually opens an optimal virtual environment for medical training and knowledge dissemination – fostering more mentorship, engagement and collaboration while enabling a high degree of immersion through simulation of real-world medical procedures and more refined diagnostic visualizations. These technologies, in their advanced forms, are all expected to revolutionize medical diagnosis, treatment and therapy by empowering healthcare professionals to achieve more by doing less, in terms of improving clinical decisions, and ultimately health outcomes.
The third chapter is comprised of eight sections discussing the current and potential applications of MM and its future advancements in healthcare delivery. Through the author’s own vision, the adoption of metaverse as an extension to telehealth and mobile device integration has driven a disruptive and impactful shift in patient diagnosis and treatment including but not limited to the early detection of lung cancer for pulmonary nodules prompting timely medical intervention and leading to higher patient survival, as well as the effective clinical management of the common cold, acute asthma attacks, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and obstructive sleep apnea. With its further advancement, MM is likely to be employed in more diverse clinical settings in the future like in-home care and therapy, remote disease management and consultation, and outpatient attendance, among others. True to its vision, the merging of the virtual and the physical worlds through MM into a collective virtual open space for managing clinical decisions is bound to be a significant technological gamechanger for improving healthcare quality in general.
As a new author for a progressive and continuously evolving field of metaverse technology in healthcare, many readings have been done for the purpose of correcting errors. However, mistakes are inevitable and everyone is encouraged to point them out if any are found. In addition, colleagues are also welcome to join the International Association and Alliance of Metaverse in Medicine.
I would like to personally thank Dr. Zhou Jian and Dr. Dawei Yang, who assisted in the design and revision of the illustrations used in this book.
Lastly, I am eternally indebted to my family for the unconditional support, patience and understanding they have given me all throughout this journey of successfully completing this book amidst a raging two-month pandemic.
