IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July/August 2023 - 41

listed products. Third, the availability of data and
the ease of accessibility allow the facilitation of AI
in producing advanced data analytics that enables
a better understanding of supply and demand,
which enables decision-makers to adapt to sudden
changes in the dynamics of the healthcare supply
chainand also improve their sales forecasting accuracy.
Finally, supply chain developers are able to
simulate new processes and operations before
physically implementing them, which allows them
to better understand their effects and outcomes, as
well as reduce any unnecessary costs.
Healthcare Facilities
Emergency departments (EDs) in healthcare
centers have been experiencing an increasing
number of avoidable visits that place a massive
burden on healthcare providers, leading to
unnecessary costs, overcrowded EDs, and
compromising the quality of healthcare services,
as well as the relationship between patients and
healthcare providers.36 According to recent studies,37
between 13.7 and 27.1 percent of all visits to
EDs are avoidable. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates
the problem as EDs are constantly overcrowded,
and patients have no other alternative
to avoid this problem. The use of metaverse can
give healthcare providers a chance they have
never had before to handle and evaluate emergency
visits virtually before deciding if the patient
needs to be there in person or not. Healthcare
facilities are virtually reconstructed in 3D, and
healthcare providers and patients are able to
interact with each other to diagnose the condition.
Moreover, healthcare devices, such as medical
wearables, can be IoMT enabled to provide
healthcare providers with a better understanding
of the situation.38 Furthermore, AI technology is
utilized to analyze and predict conditions that
actually require the physical presence of patients,
which enables healthcare providers to quickly
identify the condition and determine the optimal
way to handle it. Finally, healthcare providers
from different locations can collaborate with
each other in cases of vague and ambiguous
symptoms.
Fitness and Wellness
TheCOVID-19pandemichas
resulted in
abrupt changes in lifestyle. For instance,
July/August 2023
physical activity levels worldwide decreased
significantly, and it was evident in the reported
step counts post COVID-19.39 These observations
have raised concerns about the impact
this sudden drop in physical activity can have
on future health conditions. The main two reasons
people do not exercise regularly are lack
of intrinsic motivation and time. Furthermore,
during the pandemic, people resorted to home
workouts to maintain and improve their health
conditions. However, motivation levels plummeted
quickly, as exercising alone without
engaging feedback can become quite boring.40
Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted
the wellness and mental health of the public,
which compromised their quality of life.41 Integrating
fitness and wellness exercises with the
metaverse can lead to building a potential
solution to existing problems that prevent people
from performing physical and mental activities
properly. The immersive engagement
characteristic of the metaverse provides users
with a chance to develop smarter and more
personalized workouts. Moreover, the metaverse
enables the virtual presence of trainers,
which expands their customer base and also
allows users to compensate for the lack of
motivation and engaging feedback. Furthermore,
the virtual environment in the metaverse
can be utilized to provide users with mental
health issues with an interactive experience
that can enhance their overall mood and offer
positive mental simulation. In addition, AI technology
can be used to create customized, and
personal exercises based on users' preferences
and historical data. Finally, blockchain technology
can be used to create a virtual economy
where users can pay trainers with virtual currencies
and fitness and wellness activities,
events, or products can be presented in the
form of NFTs to ensure authenticity and data
provenance.
Open Research Challenges
This section presents the main challenges
that hinder the integration of the metaverse
with healthcare. Table 1 summarizes the challenges,
their impact, and corresponding
countermeasures.
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IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July/August 2023
