Spatial computing and Vision Pro in healthcare

I’ve always maintained that the Vision Pro is one of the most interesting and cutting-edge pieces of tech that I’ve reviewed in my nearly 20 years of evaluating tech for a living.

The idea that you could open, run, and manipulate apps in space, and then interact with them in space, by wearing what’s effectively a large goggle, has always seemed far-fetched and incredulous. So imagine what it must feel like when you put on the Vision Pro for the first time and realise that Apple has pulled it off and made what I’ve described a reality.

Apple CFO Kevan Parekh — Apple’s chief financial officer, Kevan Parekh, talking to students who designed the spatial computing apps.

Photo: HWZ

The Vision Pro, therefore, presents us with the opportunity for new types of apps and new ways of visualising information. And I got the opportunity to see this on display during a recent visit to the School of Industrial Design at the National University of Singapore, where they were holding a special showcase for guests, which included Apple’s chief financial officer, Kevan Parekh.

The school conducts a course called Spatial Computing: Design and Development, in which spatial computing is used as part of their curriculum. And as part of the course, students are tasked to create spatial computing apps that could possibly reimagine or revolutionise the way we live and use design, and two apps that stood out to me were MediView and Spatialward, because they feel like they could have a big impact on healthcare.

MediView demo — MediView lets users visualise ACL tears in whole new way.

Photo: Apple

MediView is an app designed to help patients of ACL tears (anterior cruciate ligament) – a common and serious injury amongst athletes – visualise their injury and help with their rehabilitation. With the Vision Pro, users can explore a 3D model of the knee to better understand what an ACL tear actually entails. Created by Vina Setiawaty and Benedict Woo, the app can also help in recovery by showing step-by-step rehab instructions. Although the app currently only shows ACL tears, it can be expanded to other injuries.

Another app that caught my eye was Spatial Ward, an app that uses the Vision Pro to help designers plan hospital layouts. By using the Vision Pro, designers can better visualise the working space and how the hospital space might end up looking. Demonstrating the app, the creators, Charles Cai and Bryan Kuok, showed off how the app could be used to plan an operating theatre. It was impressive because the app could even take rules and restrictions into account, like how close an IV drip holder can be placed to the bed. It could even simulate air flow from the air-con, so designers can see how that might affect the operating theatre.

Spatial Ward demo — Spatial Ward lets designers better visualise what a hospital ward or operating theatre might turn out looking like.

Photo: Apple

Clearly, the Vision Pro can be put to use in interesting ways. Parekh said he was optimistic about the future of the Vision Pro as a platform of spatial computing and that it was exciting to see how students are envisioning the future of spatial computing and how the Vision Pro can be put to use in many varied use cases.

He thought Mediview could be beneficial to patients suffering from injuries because it can be hard to remember how to do the physical therapy exercises, and in the case of Spatialward, he said it allows designers to “really see it come to life and make good decisions” about how the space should look.

Overall, the showcase demonstrates that spatial computing is really still in its nascency and that there’s untapped potential still in the Vision Pro. There’s talk that Apple is putting development of future Vision Pro headsets aside to focus on smart glasses, and while that is undoubtedly the more prudent move, I hope that they do revisit the Vision Pro at some point in the future. Imagine what more could be done if Apple comes up with a more powerful and lighter version of the Vision Pro.

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