THE POSSIBILITIES OF USING VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGIES IN MODERN CARDIOLOGY

Abstract

Justification. Technological innovations have revolutionized medical practice, especially in the field of cardiac surgery, where the complex nature of interventions requires precision and foresight. The use of virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in this field opens up huge prospects for improving preoperative planning, improving the quality of medical education and, ultimately, improving patient treatment outcomes. Aim. to analyze the literature on the role of VR/AR in modern cardiology, to discuss the current role and future directions in this field. Material and methods. As a result of the search, 3,858 publications were extracted from PubMed/MEDLINE, 69 publications from eLibrary and 1,115 publications found using Google Scholar. The search queries included the following keywords and their combinations: virtual reality, augmented reality, cardiology, cardiac surgery, virtual reality, augmented reality, cardiology, cardiac surgery. Search time interval: since the foundation of the corresponding database until May 2024. Results. Modern cardiological care includes increasingly complex procedures that require a high level of expertise. VR is becoming a powerful tool for both pre-procedural planning and educational events. VR opens up new opportunities for education and training of specialists in the field of cardiology. With its help, you can create realistic simulations of various situations that doctors may encounter in their work. This allows students to gain hands-on experience without risking real patients. Conclusion. The integration of VR into cardiology practice has great potential, but for full integration it is necessary to solve a number of problems. It is necessary to develop standards for the safety and effectiveness of using VR for medical purposes. Additional research is also needed to assess the long-term health effects of VR use on patients.