BRIDGING HEALTHCARE GAPS: MIXED REALITY APPLICATIONS IN REMOTE MEDICAL OUTREACH ailicalee@hotmail.com

465-06

BRIDGING HEALTHCARE GAPS: MIXED REALITY APPLICATIONS IN REMOTE MEDICAL OUTREACH

7

Singapore

Oral or Poster

Access to advanced medical care in lesser-developed regions remain a persistent challenge. Emerging technologies such as Mixed Reality (MR) offer potential solutions by enabling hands-free operation and real-time image sharing. We present our initial experience using MR to enable remote specialist medical assistance in Ghana.

In July 2025, the National University Hospital, University Surgical Cluster (NUH, USC, Singapore), in collaboration with HopeXchange Medical Centre (HMC, Ghana), conducted a medical outreach mission to a rural village in Kantinkyiren (Ghana) with the team using Microsoft HoloLens 2 MR devices. These devices feature an optical-passthrough holographic display that overlays virtual content onto the user’s field of vision. The combined outreach team comprised of 23 members, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists. The MR devices were worn by two doctors and connected to the internet via a dedicated 4G router, enabling real-time communication and video streaming with specialists in NUH and HMC.

A total of 152 patients, aged 2 to 85 years, were evaluated. Apart from common ailments, the team encountered complex pathologies, including hernias, possible tumors and obstetric conditions. Live videos of patient consult and point-of-care imaging tests were streamed to remote specialists from NUH and HMC via the MR devices.

The outreach team were able to utilize MR to conduct real-time remote consultations, with initial results suggesting that this approach helps support clinical decision-making for complex cases and enhance communication in rural outreach settings. Its integration into outreach workflows has the potential to increase specialized healthcare accessibility for remote rural communities.