Abstracts Engineering

Implementation of Extended Realityin Swedish Healthcare : A Study on Implementation of Technology in the Swedish Healthcare Industry

by Carl-Johan Selin

Extended reality solutions are becoming increasingly relevant for companies to implementand use commercially. One sector that have shown great potential and can benefit from implementing this type of technology is the healthcare industry. More specifically, for solutions connected to medical devices. Meanwhile, the healthcare industry has generally been particularly slow at adopting new technologies. Digitalization has been observed to progress at a slower pace than in other sectors. This study investigated why technology is progressing at slow pace and identified critical drivers and bottlenecks that affect the implementation of extended reality within healthcare. This was done through a case study on a proof concept project where the value of a mixed reality solution in the healthcare sector was investigated. This was particularly interesting as the tested solution was the first of its kind in Sweden. The results of the study revealed several barriers within the healthcare sector, including conservatism in the industry, lack of incentives, lack of absorption as well as data protection and privacy issues. Furthermore, theresults revealed that implementation of XR solutions into Swedish healthcare is in first phase. However, underlying drivers imply that there is value in further development. Especially, since the proof of concept was considered successful and showed signs of progressing to the next stage of implementation.