The conference will be hosted by Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal. Integration of Extended reality (XR) into health care has an incredible potential to transform health care education and practice. Although XR being rapidly developed as an immerging technology in healthcare industry worldwide, awareness about XR tools is quite low among healthcare professionals. Lack of interdisciplinary collaborations hinders the development of effective technology-based solutions for healthcare. Opportunities to have hands-on experiences of XR based technology in healthcare is scarce especially in Indian context.

Manipal group is a leader in healthcare in India with the second highest number of beds in the country. The first private medical college, KMC Manipal ranks in the top 10 in the country. There are 4 teaching hospitals that Manipal group operates in the country (Manipal, Mangalore, Sikkim, Jamshedpur). Manipal has Kasturba Hospital, which is a 2200 bedded hospital with a huge patient load; the super specialty wing of the hospital is ready to start by the end of 2023. Manipal campus houses India’s top ranked dental college (MCODS Manipal), nursing college (MCON), allied health science college (MCHP), pharmacy college (MCOPS) and thus has a unique distinction of bringing all relevant health science branches together. On the technical side, presence of the engineering college (MIT) and its various offshoots brings technology prowess too.

The conference will predominantly focus on four major domains of healthcare education and practice where XR has potential applications –
i. Medical education, ii. Healthcare skills training, iii. Rehabilitation and iv. Patient education. Hands-on experience for participants on various XR tools will be one of the highlights of the conference. XR tools associated with cadaveric dissection, rehabilitation, clinical procedures, diagnostic procedures and patient education will be showcased. The conference will facilitate ideation/hackathon where medical professionals and XR professionals will get together in small groups to ideate on challenges and come up with a direction targeted for change to address real world problems. The conference will bring professionals from both healthcare and XR technology worlds under one roof. It will bring eminent medical educationists, other health professions educators, and practicing doctors who will delve into pedagogical and patient care aspects of XR whereas XR technology experts will share the latest developments in various XR tools, showcase solutions to the healthcare challenges and provide new dimensions for healthcare industry. Thus, this scientific gathering will provide a platform for delegates to learn, exchange ideas and network with experts regarding different aspects of XR in healthcare. This event will also provide an arena for faculty, students and industry delegates to showcase their work and identify potential collaborations.

• To deliberate on current state and future of extended reality in healthcare
• To deliberate on challenges and opportunities of integrating extended reality in healthcare systems
• Use-cases hands-on in following domains: i) early clinical year education ii) skills training in clinical years iii) rehabilitation iv) patient education
• Demonstration sessions showcasing extended reality applications in healthcare
• Poster session on ongoing research and projects related to extended reality in healthcare

• Clinicians of various disciplines: i) experienced clinical knowledge ii) working at the intersection of health & technology
• Medical educationists
• Technologists: i) working in domains of XR & healthcare ii) XR professionals iii) software developers
• Allied health science professionals: i) physiotherapists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, etc (academia & practitioners)
• Professionals from other medical domains like dentistry, nursing, biological sciences
• PhD and Master’s degree students working in domain of health and technology