3D Telemedicine: Transforming patient communication during Covid-19

During Covid Pandemic social distancing is in force, and may become the new norm for an extended period of time. Hospital clinics have been cancelled, or converted to telephone or telemedicine clinics only. This is to reduce patient footfall in Covid treating hospitals, and reduce exposure of staff to the virus. However, telephone and telemedicine clinics cannot replicate a face-to-face clinic. We plan to use groundbreaking technology that allows the doctor to see a patient in 3D, as if they were co-present in the same room. This is likely to have significant benefits over standard telemedicine, but we need to explore these with a clinical trial. The use in Scotland will be the first time anywhere in the world that this technology has been used, with the backing of a major company (Microsoft) who are implementing the system specifically for use during the Covid pandemic. The likely benefits of this system are not limited to healthcare, but may extend to care homes, industry and education. Imagine being able to see someone anywhere in the world, at any time, as if they were in the same room as you. The Covid Pandemic may usher in a new era of telepresence communication.