Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Specialized Logistics in Healthcare

In the digital era, many technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), computer information systems, Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, immersive technologies, 3D printing, etc. are being adopted to facilitate operations, provide better management, and enhance workflow and working efficiency. As such, digital health technology and management are the key topics that are attracting wide attention, since it is important both in enhancing efficiency and safety. In fact, most of the healthcare and medical care tasks cannot be replaced entirely by computers. The training of healthcare workers and medical practitioners still remains important. Immersive technologies including virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) are widely adopted in numerous industrial and training applications. VR provides a fully immersive experience for the trainees, while AR and MR provide interactive stimulation while maintaining attention in the physical world. Despite the types of immersive technologies used for training, healthcare training, and medical simulation are key components of digital health technology. Nevertheless, in many cases, a trainee’s acceptance and behavioural training in participating in immersive training are still uncertain. Understanding their acceptance and behaviour is important not only in developing effective simulated training but also in enhancing their autonomy and motivation in participation. To this end, we also introduce some of the research models that are commonly used to support health and medical training and simulation. 

Hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities will face considerable problems in the next decades due to the aging population's increasing healthcare demands, the complexity of modern healthcare delivery, and the rising expectations of healthcare consumers. Future healthcare development must continue to face problems, which call for more digital innovation. One of the goals for the ensuing decades will be to craft a clever plan to advance digital health. The smart Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are crucial elements to integrate digital health for enabling practical utilization in the field, given the large range of information technologies available. The smart IoT supports medical practitioners in their working process and facilitates the management of the patient’s health records. In this chapter, we explore some of the key smart IoT technologies in digital health and management including data acquisition, data transmission, and positioning. Each technology is briefly introduced to provide insights that will allow readers to adopt the essential technologies for potential future practical applications. 

 Life and death are unique phenomena. Death is inevitable; thus, people will eventually become consumers of end-of-life products and services. The death care industry is currently facing radical challenges. The death-denying attitude can severely undermine the examination of the death care industry. Personal care and tailored informative services for the ultimate care of deceased loved ones must be given by a professional logistics service provider. The transport of human remains, bones and ashes requires professional knowledge of local regulations and laws, carrier rules and restrictions, rates and market demand, and shipment safety and protection, and communication between the carriers, customers and end-user (family members). On the side of the logistics service providers, they must overcome their fear of facing a dead body and address the funeral atmosphere of the workplace to improve their psychological well-being. This chapter includes five sections on the nature of human remains, specifications, human remains logistics operation, business ethics, and emerging market challenges of green burials. 

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the world in January 2020. Without specific vaccines and antiviral treatments, the virus easily spreads across different parts of the world. Accordance to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 has widely spread to nearly all countries across six geographical regions (i.e., Western Pacific, Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, Europe, and Americas). In doing so, different countries implemented various preventive measures like hand washing, lockdowns, social distancing, and mask-wearing to minimize the transmission of the virus. However, such preventive measures are short-term, ineffective, and may not be sustainable. The introduction of common vaccination campaigns is viewed as a vital effective way to against COVID-19. Over 60 vaccines for COVID-19 are either previously endorsed or going through clinical experiments. As expected, there will be an increasing need for people to accept vaccine injections. The vaccine is a highly vulnerable, high-value, and rare product in the world. As such, resilient vaccine supply chain management is urgently needed. Otherwise, the inferior quality of vaccines poses global health risks and causes the problem of wasting useful medical supplies. Nevertheless, some logistics firms encountered unfolded logistics challenges of the COVID-19 vaccine due to a lack of professionals, capacity, data integrity, inventory management, fluctuating demand, and geographic risk (e.g., vibration, location, shock, and temperature. In particular, most logistics firms and health specialists encounter severe challenges in managing the vaccine supply chain in remote areas or developing countries. Although the vaccine is a global and hot issue for researchers, industrial practitioners, local communities, and policymakers, there is scanty attention to investigating the establishment of a resilience vaccine supply chain management in the context of COVID-19. At present, only a few research groups have discussed the role of blockchain in vaccine supply chain management, however, the information is not enough to reveal the impact on how vaccine supply chain management of blockchain can mitigate the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, this chapter will mainly focus on the overview of the influenza pandemic around the globe, the existing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and Hong Kong, the current development of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of blockchain in the vaccine supply chain, and the vaccine logistics in COVID-19.

In this chapter, the authors mainly highlight the key anti-epidemic measures adopted by a community. A total of 14 illustrative examples are discussed to demonstrate the different measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Details of the measures are provided, including photos, such as in a gym, hospitals, swimming pools, catering premises, a cinema, theme parks (i.e. Ocean Park and Disneyland), the Hong Kong Airport, schools, public markets, an elderly home, a church, museums, the Hong Kong Coliseum and public transportation. The antiepidemic measures were effective in controlling the spread of COVID-19 during the different waves in the past 3 years. The anti-epidemic measures may provide valuable insights into the practices and preparation of other countries for the post-COVID-19- pandemic future.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, homes for the aged have seriously suffered from the fifth wave of COVID-19. Although the problem of an ageing population emerges as a global issue, the relevant studies related to homes for the aged are under-researched. In this chapter, we explored the weaknesses of homes for the aged and weak government policies that have posed threats to homes for the aged to deal with numerous confirmed cases of COVID-19. In response, we propose possible ways for homes for the aged to deal with the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. It may give useful guidelines for the policymakers, researchers, homes for the aged, and the local community to design and implement anti-epidemic measures in the forthcoming years.

In general, the elderly mainly face two kinds of problems, namely physical and mental. Such kinds of problems lead to the unfolded challenges for the elderly in the community. Also, it may increase the burden on the healthcare system in the long term. To this end, this chapter introduces the adoption of mobile apps for the elderly to increase the elderly social mobility and mitigate the overloaded public healthcare system in the future.

In the 21st century, many developed countries have become aging societies. Although network speed, the improvement of smartphones, and 5G foster the growth of mobile technology, the employment of mobile technology exhibited a significant gap in the design and application of mobile technology that can be applied for older adults. This study analyses the design and implementation of mobile technologies to investigate novel mobile applications that support older adults in aged homes, by conducting a comprehensive discussion. As such, this study selects an expert narrative overview of a literature search from Google Scholar and archives. Analysis results reveal that designing new mobile apps, strengthening the interaction through VR technologies, and developing smartwatches for nursing homes. We need to consult older adults to ascertain if they are willing to use the technology. Mobile technology provides better support for older adults and monitors their health condition. 

This book chapter mainly discusses how Macro Business Simulation applies to healthcare products. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hand sanitizer is a necessity to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus to the public. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the International Association of Business Management Simulation launched macro business simulations over the past few years across academic institutions, firms, and training bodies. Macro business simulation games become emerging educational tools due to the growth of online learning pedagogy and the emergence of innovative educational concepts. This book chapter mainly identifies the key elements of macro business simulation, expected students’ learning outcomes, and the key structures of macro business simulation. Hand sanitizer is also used as an illustrative example to investigate how healthcare products integrate into the macro business simulation platform.