Tasmanian developed technology is helping to support better health outcomes and services for people living in rural and remote communities in Vietnam.
Researchers from the University of Tasmania's Centre for Rural Health and the Human Interface Technology Laboratory will develop, customise and install an Augmented Reality Remote Assistance (UTAS-ARRA) system to help connect healthcare staff in regional and remote centres in Vietnam's Yen Bai province to experts at Bach Mai Hospital for guidance and assistance.
The project has been funded by an Aus4Innovation grant and will be co-led by the University of Tasmania and Bach Mai Hospital.
In many rural and remote areas, healthcare staff have difficulty accessing real-time, prompt assistance and realistic training provided by experts located centrally.
UTAS-ARRA aims to help assist by connecting health professionals with the head-mounted display, hands-free video calling system allowing local practitioners to call central experts and share what they see through using Microsoft's HoloLens technology to troubleshoot issues in real-time.
UTAS-ARRA allows the expert to create annotations and transit them directly to the local practitioner's field of view.
The wearable technology also allows the local practitioner to retrieve information and interact with imaging immediately without having to remove sterile gloves.
Image: Christine Low test drives the new Augmented Reality Remote Assistance (UTAS-ARRA). Picture: Darren Grattidge.
