3-D holograms make virtual cancer care ‘truly engaging and emotional’
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At West Cancer Center and Research Institute, the expression “the doctor is in” is a bit more complicated than it sounds.
Technically — just like other virtual or telemedicine visits — the physician is not in the same location as patients.
However, in a bit of high-tech wizardry that seems borrowed straight from a science fiction movie, a 3-D projection of the oncologist is “beamed into” a 7.5-foot box in the same room where the patient sits.
This creates a hologram that allows for the next best thing to an in-person visit.
“The response by patients has been overwhelmingly positive,” Sylvia Richey, MD, medical oncologist and chief medical officer at West Cancer Center, told Healio. “What this could do for patients in remote or rural areas is game changing — especially for our patients who are oftentimes very sick and unable to travel.”
‘Nothing is lost’
West Cancer Center and Research Institute — which operates several cancer clinics in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas — is the first physician practice in the country to offer hologram patient visits.
The initiative emerged as the practice aimed to respond to health care delivery challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One of the positives that came from the pandemic was the acceptance of telehealth for patients, but we wanted to take it one step further,” Mitch Graves, CEO of West Cancer Center, told Healio. “I started researching interaction options and ran across the company Proto. They were doing ingenious work using 3-D holograms to transport entertainers to performances or professors to teaching institutions, and the experience appeared very lifelike.”
Graves contacted the company and its technology intrigued him. He analyzed the costs and benefits, then decided to invest in the technology for provider-patient visits.
“The core behind Proto is presence — that feeling of being in the same room with someone, which comes from the life-size, full-length projection,” David Nussbaum, founder and CEO of Proto Hologram, told Healio. “It captures the nonverbal cues that are crucial for making communication truly engaging and emotional. ... It feels like the person is really there with you.”
Given the importance of the topics patients discuss with their oncologists, being able to see their physician and pick up on the subtleties of nonverbal communication can add another layer of connection and emotional engagement, Richey said.
“Body language plays a major role in communication,” she said. “With the hologram, nothing is lost. We always have an advanced practice provider in the clinic room with the patient during these visits to facilitate any tactile or detailed request, so the patient is having a personal connection with both one of our oncology specialists and an advanced practice provider.”
‘Seamless’ implementation
Nussbaum developed Proto’s first freestanding hologram device in his living room in 2018.
Since then, he has been “beaming people and objects around the world,” he said.
The company continues to seek ways to improve the technology by refining hardware, enhancing security and reducing costs.
It also aims to develop AI tools that “support health care professionals without replacing them,” Nussbaum added.
The hologram device has evolved as a result of the company’s partnerships with health care programs — including University of Central Florida’s College of Health Care Professionals and Sciences — and corporate clients who use Proto for medical device training.
West Cancer Center is the first facility to pioneer direct physician-patient appointments using Proto, Nussbaum said.
Although screen-based telehealth appointments are an effective way to improve remote oncology care, they don’t provide the same scale and dimension as the hologram technology, Richey said.
“Nothing compares with a face-to-face visit between a doctor and a patient, but we were pleasantly surprised how the Proto hologram experience felt like the doctor was actually in the room,” she said. “If you think about looking at a smart phone, tablet or even a computer, you are only getting a fraction of visual content vs. a 3-D image in a [7.5-foot box]. The patient feels like the doctor is in the clinic with them, and the doctor is seeing the patient and communicating in real time.”
West Cancer Center initially implemented the hologram technology at its site in Paris, Tennessee. The launch was so successful, it now is offered at a second location in Corinth, Mississippi, Graves said.
Other cancer centers could implement similar technology successfully, Graves said.
“Being the first comes with some hiccups, but the Proto team has been very responsive, and initial pilots identified challenges and opportunities for improvement,” he said. “Having room for the Proto ‘box’ is crucial, robust WiFi capacity is necessary, and a production area for the physician are all things to evaluate before implementation.”
The technology has been successfully implemented into the clinic’s workflow, Graves added.
“To date, our holographic appointments have been seamless,” Graves said. “Both our patients and providers are excited to have this option available.”
Reference:
- West Cancer Center and Research Institute. New hologram virtual visits at West (press release). Available at https://westcancercenter.org/new-hologram-virtual-visits-at-west. Published Sept. 17, 2024. Accessed Oct. 17, 2024.
For more information:
Mitch Graves can be reached at support@westclinic.com.
David Nussbaum can be reached at info@protohologram.com.
Sylvia Richey, MD, can be reached at support@westclinic.com.
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