How pharma and medical devices are leveraging Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality (AR) technology has been making waves in various industries, including the pharmaceutical industry. It is being used with artificial intelligence (AI) to radically transform how we do things. As a result, the pharma industry is making great strides in exploring various applications of AR in areas such as manufacturing, sales, and marketing.

There are many benefits of augmented reality in pharma. One is that it enables researchers to visualise and manipulate molecular structures in 3D, providing a better understanding of the underlying biology of diseases and potential treatments. This could accelerate the drug discovery process, leading to faster development of new treatments and medicines.

Drug manufacturing companies can use AR to provide real-time information and guidance to operators, reducing errors and improving efficiency. It can also be used for training, allowing people to practice procedures in a simulated environment before performing them in real life.

In sales and marketing, AR can enhance engagement with healthcare professionals and patients by providing interactive and educational experiences. For example, pharmaceutical companies can use augmented reality to demonstrate the mechanism of action of their drugs or to showcase patient outcomes in a visually compelling way.

Here we dive a little deeper to uncover how augmented reality is being leveraged in pharma to paint a picture of how things are changing.

What is augmented reality (AR)?

Augmented reality is like the lovechild of reality and digital technology. It’s a way of enhancing our real-world experience by overlaying digital content on top of it. It superimposes computer-generated sensory information onto the real world. It involves adding digital elements to a live view of the physical world, typically through a camera-enabled device such as a smartphone or tablet. As such, it’s a way of making complex information more accessible and easier to understand.

The aim of AR is to enhance the user’s perception and interaction with the real world by overlaying relevant and contextual digital information onto their field of view. This can include text, images, videos, sounds, and 3D models. Think of it like putting on a pair of virtual reality glasses, but instead of being transported to a completely different world, you’re adding new layers of information and visuals to the world around you.
Let’s say you’re trying to explain to a patient why your new drug or even nanotech is a good choice for them. With augmented reality, you could use a smartphone or tablet to show them a 3D model of how the drug works in their body or even give them a virtual tour of their disease’s progression and how treatment will change that.

The use of AR in pharma and medical devices

It might be a relatively new technology, but AR in pharma and medical devices has multiple uses which don’t just show promise but which are already proving exceptionally worthwhile.

1. Pharma and Medical Device sales and marketing
Explaining your product to the patient (and physician) brings its’ own challenges. AR brings an engaging, efficient and easy way to explain the product. Think about a medical device for example. HCPs and patients can see your product in action and envisage its benefits without having to read about how to use it. What’s more, it takes your storytelling to the next level, which is memorable too.

 But it is not just limited to medical devices. Pharma can get in on the act as well.

Bayer Pharmaceuticals partnered with Pixacore to use augmented reality to present information at exhibitions to bring their oncology pipeline pathways to life. When Bayer utilised this AR at a medical conference for the first time, they observed that the duration of engagement per booth attendance increased a staggering amount from less than two minutes to an average of 10 minutes.

Given research shows that more than 50% of physicians want AR to learn about diseases and conditions, it makes sense that it’s a powerful sales and marketing tool. In the early COVID months, where marketing needed to continue despite remote working requirements, and in a future world with higher demand for smaller carbon footprints, AR is an excellent sales and marketing tool without the need to cart around machinery, models or prototypes.

The above capability isn’t just about pure sales and marketing, but it’s about conveying complex info and product functionality, which increases knowledge and user engagement.

2. Patient education and care

Pfizer has used an AR smartphone app so patients could relate different ThermaCare product choices to their own unique pain experiences. Ethosh has created an app to raise awareness and increase education about glaucoma. Other AR capabilities in patient education are increasingly remarkable. It can show a patient how their skin condition will change or show someone with macular degeneration how their vision will change with and without treatment. Those who need prosthetics can even become immersed in what their life will be like with a prosthetic or implant – a concept that’s nearly impossible to imagine without AR. HCPs can use AR to educate patients, for example, on how to use a device.

AR can give a patient deep understanding and drive engagement in a way that wasn’t possible before. It makes patient education, understanding and assurance multi-dimensional and engages the senses resonating impressively with the famous Benjamin Franklin quotation, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Informed patients become engaged patients. They can also make better choices about their treatment options.

3. Pharma drug and equipment manufacturing

The global pharma market was worth $1.4 trillion in 2022. However, sustaining and growing this scale of manufacturing going forwards needs a different approach that AR enables.

Augmented reality in pharma manufacturing improves safety and efficiency. It ensures consistency and reduces human error. Imagine the ability to overlay an AR experience with user prompts onto the manufacturing process and assembly line. For medical devices, AR can enable visual 3D design schematics.

A renowned pharma company is already using PTC’s Vuforia Expert Capture as a training solution with work aides to accompany Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and streamline training, providing an excellent case study of how pharma manufacturing is using AR. The estimated cost savings are a staggering $27 million per factory.

4. Medical training and surgical applications

In June 2020, John Hopkins surgeons performed ground-breaking AR-based surgeries for spinal fusion and removing a cancerous spinal tumour.

AR in surgery preparation and performance is remarkable, allowing surgeons to effectively gain x-ray vision and incredible precision. If it’s possible in surgery, it’s easy to imagine how the same AR concepts become highly relevant to training across medical functions. From practising complex surgery to learning minimally invasive procedures without the risks of trying things out on an actual human, accuracy and patient outcomes can be improved.

Often medical training is complex. AR training enables remote training without the need for other equipment, which is engaging and memorable.

The role of AR in medical education is a long way from being fully realised, but it is an exciting field. Conceivably, medical students will better understand anatomy, processes, disease implications and scientific processes more easily and effectively with AR. In addition, AR will bring to life concepts that are staid and limited within a textbook or lecture hall. AR is the ultimate hands-on educational tool.

5. Research and development

We can use AR technology to create virtual simulations of drug molecules and their interactions with human cells, which can aid in designing and testing new drugs.

One significant benefit of using AR technology in pharmaceutical research is that it can reduce the time and cost associated with traditional drug development methods. Additionally, researchers can use AR to visualise the effects of potential drug options on a cellular or molecular level, allowing them to identify promising compounds more quickly and accurately.

The development and manufacturing of mRNA vaccines, AKA cell therapy, at the incredible speed it happened during COVID wouldn’t have been possible without AR.