Introduction to the Research Topics

This book covers innovative research topics on Metaverse, Digital Twins and Disease Screening and Precision medicines which represents the convergence of three significant technological trends, each with the potential to impact healthcare on its own. However, when combined, they could establish entirely novel avenues for delivering care, offering the potential to reduce costs significantly and greatly enhance patient outcomes.

Technological Trends

These trends include telepresence/telemedicine, the digital twin (DT), and blockchain. Telepresence refers to people's capacity to virtually be together despite physical distance. This can be achieved through virtual reality (VR, immersing the user entirely), augmented reality (AR, overlaying artificial images onto a real image), or other methods.

Types of Metaverse

Aside from VR and AR, distinguish two other metaverse types: lifelogging (capturing, storing, and sharing everyday experiences and information about objects and people) and the mirror world (reflecting the real world but integrating and providing external environment information).

Healthcare Applications

In the healthcare context, telepresence is predominantly utilized in telemedicine, which involves delivering medical services remotely.