As an occupational therapist, I’m constantly exploring ways to improve patient-therapist interactions. This might include how patients exercise, understand their health, cognition and engage in meaningful activities.
This is where the Apple Vision Pro could potentially transform healthcare.
A new platform for healthcare professionals
The Apple VisionPro could also be helpful for physical, occupational, or speech therapists. It’s one thing to go to a physical or occupational therapy gym, but what if you could do it from home with an AR headset.
You could have a face-to-face meeting with someone on Facetime at home with your therapist.
They could send you the exercises while talking to you on the call.
How it could be used for Occupational Therapists
Here are a few ways it could be used for occupational therapy.
- Home health visits
- Assessing household distances
- Ability to teach ADLs
- Assessing shower and toilet transfers
- Ability to assess dressing without seeing them naked
- Visual assessments
- Cognitive assessments
How it could be used for Physical Therapists
Here are a few ways it could be used for Physical Therapist.
- Home health visits
- Outpatient visits
- Home exercises programs
- Gait assessments
How it could be used for Speech Therapists
Here are a few ways it could be used for Speech therapists.
- Home health visits
- Swallow evaluations
- Speech and language assessments
- Cognitive assessments
- Improving speech skills
Imagine how this device could be life-saving when someone is aspiration at home. Anyone could simply do a Facetime call with a speech therapist to know if they were having difficulty swallowing.
This can also be done on an iPhone, but an AR headset would be much easier in bridging the gap between therapist and patient due to the immersive 3D rendering.
Summary
To sum up, as an occupational therapist, my focus remains on advancing our understanding of health conditions, advocating for cognitive well-being, and encouraging involvement in meaningful activities, all aimed at enhancing the overall quality of life for my patients.
The Apple Vision Pro is just another avenue that has the potential to really make a difference in healthcare.
David is the lead editor of OT Focus. He has been practicing as an Occupational Therapist since 2013. He specializes in acute care, hand therapy, and ergonomics.
