Use of metaverse will grow as hardware improves.

Improved optics could help the metaverse become as big as the internet | VentureBeat

TL:DR

With the metaverse expected to reach $800 billion in revenue through social media ads, as well as hardware, software and live entertainment opportunities over the next two years, there is a need for significant hardware improvements today for realistic visual experiences tomorrow.

For example, Valve’s hardware utilizes visual, audio, and ergonomic technologies to create a captivating experience for users that includes optimization for FoV, dual-element lenses, canted optics, and long-session comfort.

The conversation does not end on virtual land either.

Traditional hardware like cell phones and computers do not offer the feeling resulting from innovative hardware and there are a variety of optical design challenges that need to be addressed to meet the technology needs of the metaverse.

Healthcare Revolution Lurks in the Metaverse

 (Photo by Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

From the Mail and Guardian in S.A. comes an article suggesting that while slow to adopt, eventually the metaverse will increasingly be used to see patients remotely and beyond borders.

TL;DR

  • Real-world fashion brands are turning out to be early pioneers in the metaverse.
  • Gucci carved itself out a hipster territory by buying virtual property on the Ethereum blockchain.
  • However, healthcare services in the metaverse will take this to new heights.
  • As the metaverse experience becomes normalised for ordinary people, its potential to transform telehealth becomes massive.
  • It is likely that the democratisation of metaverse healthcare won’t happen by default; it will require the intentions and the investments of a government and all their countrywide healthcare stakeholders, as well as a population willing and able to explore and inhabit a new frontier.
  • Initially, metaverse medical services will be seen as a second option to physical consultations, but as with video telehealth today, popularity will increase over time as the convenience and cost benefits are unlocked by consumers, service providers and funders.

Best spinal tap you’ll ever have. New study concludes that virtual reality in lumbar puncture training improves students’ learning experience.

From BioMedCentral.com

tl/dr

  • In this study, we report the development of a 180-degree stereoscopic LP video in clinical settings.
  • Interestingly, the medical student cohort had a significantly higher satisfaction, perceived a higher interest in the video and were keener to have the video in open access for repeated use than the cohort of attendings and residents with prior LP experience.
  • There is no need for continuous supervision.
  • Finally, the video modality allows for remote teaching, which is very valuable in the current Covid pandemic context and the associated need to restrict physical contact [36, 37].
  • The 180-degree format also eliminated resolution and bandwidth issues that can be observed with a 360-VR video format.
  • All in all, we think our results open a door for future studies to further investigate the development of a VR-based LP training system by demonstrating the feasibility of the administration of the video and encouraging data regarding students’ interest.

LINK: https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-022-03317-7

Potentially huge breakthrough in MS Treatment that may “reverse” illness.

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the myelin sheath that protect the central nervous system (CNS). It affects approximately 3 million people worldwide. The disease often progresses until the patient loses mobility, or worse. And there is no cure; only disease modifying drugs with spotty efficacy. I know. I count myself among those 3 million.

But good news emerged this week from an initial study of a new immunotherapy that targets cells infected with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). Not only does the therapy appear to halt progression of an illness that–to date–was unstoppable. In some cases, it actually reversed progression. That’s huge for people who have already progressed to debilitating symptoms.

Of course, this is early days, and MS sufferers have had hopes raised before, but it is potentially a turning point in the fight against MS.

Fingers Crossed.


The results of the trial were presented by Atara Biotherapeutics at an EBV and MS day on March 22, 2002.

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/ms-symptoms-may-have-been-reversed-in-immunotherapy-breakthrough/

The Covid Pandemic Will Change Some Things Forever, but Manufacturing PPE in the U.S. is not One of Them.

According to the AP: “U.S.-based PPE manufacturers are calling it quits.

“At the start of the pandemic, a call was made for American-made personal protective equipment, and some $125 million in grants were awarded to spur production. But after facing logistical hurdles, regulatory rejections, staunch foreign competition and decreasing demand, many state-side companies have stopped manufacturing PPE. “

AP PHOTO: Jeff Roberson