Metaverse in Healthcare: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions

Metaverse has the potential to reshape and transform the way people interact and perform their daily tasks. A metaverse is a virtual, digital, and three-dimensional universe formed by integrating different cutting-edge technologies and virtual places. In this article, we discuss how the metaverse can be utilized in healthcare. We provide insightful discussions on the concept of the metaverse and its main enabling technologies. We explore and discuss the potential applications of the metaverse in healthcare, such as telemedicine and telehealth, medical education and training, medical marketing, healthcare supply chain, healthcare facilities, and fitness and wellness. We present the key challenges hindering the widespread adoption of the metaverse in healthcare. Finally, we recommend future research directions.