Medical professionals have experimented with using mixed reality headsets

Mixed reality devices can turn digital information into 3D experiences

Described as "wearing a theme park on your face," devices like Microsoft's HoloLens project images into users' eyes so that their brains believe virtual objects are actually there. The bulkiness and physical limitations of existing headsets are expected to lessen over time, mimicking the evolution of early headphones.

Mixed reality may help onboard manufacturing workers more efficiently

Mixed reality headsets can facilitate hands-on education by providing immersive guides overlaid onto their field of vision, showing users how to complete complex tasks.

An analysis on using VR to help train orthopedic surgeons

Virtual reality simulation provides surgical trainees with an immersive 3D experience that allows them to practice skills and operations in a safe yet realistic environment.

The potential of virtual reality in healthcare

Virtual reality (VR) is carving new frontiers in healthcare, from aiding in stroke recovery to training medical professionals. This article in Time Magazine highlights the innovative uses of VR in medical settings, including its potential and current limitations.

Virtual and augmented realities are paving the way for a more immersive future

Tech companies like Apple, Meta, and Microsoft invest heavily in immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. While VR transports users to a fully digital space and AR adds digital elements to the real world, mixed reality allows interaction with both at once.

Limited battery life and increasing discomfort prevent extensive use of mixed reality headsets

Spending 24 hours wearing Apple's Vision Pro highlights some of the challenges facing MR technology, which are compounded by an increasing number of bugs when software is run in nonideal conditions. However, practical and entertainment benefits include placing multiple midair timers when cooking and experiencing immersive multimedia, such as astronomical flythroughs.

Virtual platform lets surgeons train remotely and in real time

Advancements in health tech are breaking barriers, as trainee surgeons can now virtually join live operations without stepping into the operating room. This 6-minute video from BBC takes a look at Proximi's cloud-based platform, which enables...

Immersive technologies are increasingly being used in medicine, retail, and education

More accessible devices and user-friendly tools have increased the adoption of these technologies, which provide interactive, 3D environments that facilitate natural human learning. In 2018, Walmart purchased 17,000 VR headsets to train over a million employees in areas such as customer service and Black Friday preparation.

Simulations incorporating mixed reality have improved trainee certification rates

Such software provides immersive, risk-free environments where students can manipulate digital re-creations to optimize the training experience without producing waste. One meta-analysis showed that MR in welding training boosted passing rates on certification exams by 41.6% versus traditional training methods.

Meta's Quest and other mixed reality devices can make learning new skills easier

PianoVision utilizes the passthrough visibility of a headset to illuminate which keys to play on a real piano or keyboard, providing an immersive, software-based learning alternative to human instruction. Similar apps also offer virtual model replacements for physical devices, such as a virtual piano, to practice with.

Medical imaging allows 3D printers to create patient-matched devices

With imaging data on a person's anatomy, external prostheses and implants, such as cranial plates or hip joints, can be custom-printed to better match a patient's body. Fabrication of porous structures can promote bone growth, leading to longer-lasting implants.

Mixed reality technologies may help treat depression

A study led by a team from Stanford University showed that MR can help people with depression by providing pathways to engage in activities such as digital board games and dancing. Participants saw reduced symptoms of depression that made their overall treatment plans more successful.

A 'holoported' medical team has been beamed into the International Space Station

In 2021, using the Microsoft HoloLens Kinect camera and custom Aexa Aerospace software, NASA's flight surgeon led a team of hologram doctors on a pioneering visit to the space station, marking a significant advancement in communication and telemedicine technologies that will be crucial for future deep-space missions.

A 1992 failed parachute test provided the hardware for the first mixed reality system

The Virtual Fixtures platform was developed to improve human dexterity by merging physical and virtual objects with haptic feedback from an upper-body exoskeleton. Tight budgeting and significant equipment needs nearly canceled the project, were it not for salvaging and repairing cameras and sensors from a smashed experimental parachute rig.

Sets incorporating immersive mixed reality have transformed weather reporting

The technology enables presenters to step into virtual environments that incorporate 3D models and real-time data, providing more engaging and interactive forecasting. They have also facilitated the development of educational segments where meteorologists use virtual models to explain complex weather phenomena.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

People learned to fly in VR, and their brains then accepted wings as body parts

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts. The brain research has potential implications for how VR training may help people adapt to prostheses. (Free with email.)

Mind-controlled bionic arms use nerve implants to restore sensation and movement

Unlike traditional prosthetics that rely on surface electrodes or mechanical parts, this system uses implanted titanium and nerve-connected electrodes to enable a seamless brain-to-arm connection. Patients train in virtual reality with their implanted signals before using the physical prosthesis.

Some medical schools have phased out human cadavers for digital alternatives

AI-based anatomy tools and digital cadavers are increasingly used to teach students, bypassing the ethical and consent concerns around the use of real bodies. Digital cadavers have also become less expensive than real ones, though the tactile and sensory experiences of real dissection may be irreplaceable.

Digital twins create real-time 3D models of smart cities

These re-creations allow city planners to track changes and manage infrastructure more easily by testing strategies in virtual environments. Geospatial technologies, such as mobile mapping and satellite imaging, help cities assess urban layouts, plan for disasters, and manage resources more efficiently.

In a first, eye prosthesis has restored sight to macular generation patients

In a clinical trial, 27 of 32 participants with advanced macular degeneration regained enough vision to read books, food labels, and subway signs about a year after receiving a prosthetic retina device. This is the first device to restore functional vision to patients with incurable vision loss, though in this case they can only see in black and white, with no shades in between.

Doctors weigh in: Are wearable fitness devices useful or just entertainment?

In an age where technology is intertwined with our daily routines, there is an evolving relationship between healthcare professionals and the data gained from our wearable devices. This piece, published on The Verge, explores how doctors view and...

Self-driving car companies like Waymo use lidar technology for navigation

By firing thousands of laser pulses in all directions, lidar systems construct 3D maps of a car’s surroundings, even in environments with limited lighting. The technology has also been incorporated into iPhones and the Vision Pro headset to improve camera focus.

How medical robots could cure cancer

Medical robots are on the verge of being able to be injected into the body, where they will be responsible for semi-autonomous behavior, such as detecting cancer cells and distributing medication. This six-minute video dives into the science of these nanorobots, which are smaller than blood cells. Applications of these nanobots could range from disease discovery and condition monitoring to tissue repair and artificial blood delivery.

Emergency room evaluations may be improved with AI algorithms

Emergency room care teams must make fast and crucial decisions. They must determine if patients need to be admitted or discharged and when to order more tests or not. Researchers have been exploring how often patients died in the week after they were sent home and evaluating how this and other aspects of emergency care decision-making could be improved with AI algorithms to assist decision-makers.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Recreating ancient faces: where art meets archaeology

Artistic renderings and reconstructions of ancient people are one way to bring the past to life, providing viewers with insights into and empathy for those who came before. This article details how modern artists and archaeologists work together to...

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.