FEATURE
INGENIEUR
FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Virtual Environmental Imaging Technology Enhances Maintenance of Biomedical Assets
By Ir . Dr Muhammad Syukri Imran Abdullah , Engineering Faculty UNIMAS , Exco member Biomedical Engineering Association of Malaysia ( BEAM )
Ir . Ts Siti Aisyah Bt Sapiee , Engineering Division , Sarawak State Health Department
Dzatul Ithri Amran , Engineering Services Division MOH , Secretary Biomedical Engineering Association of Malaysia
Government hospitals provide a wide range services and house many facilities including biomedical equipment to ensure 24-hour healthcare services . The hospital ’ s facility managers need to leverage current resources to ensure minimum interruption to all critical functions which heavily rely on various type of biomedical equipment ( BE ). There are opportunities to integrate the use of emerging technologies such as 3D virtual environment imaging in facility management services of hospitals . The visualisation capability provided by such technology could greatly improve BE maintenance management process such as BE inventory upkeep , BE operation and routine maintenance processes , BE replacement and upgrades and BE safety and health . It also helps in the disaster management process as seen in increased mobility of BE across the Ministry of Health ( MOH ) facilities during the recent COVID 19 pandemic . The feasibility and acceptability of such technology in BE management should be further explored to optimise disaster response as well as out-of-hospital management of BE . MOH have taken a keen interest in such technology and is moving forward to test and implement such tools in this era of distance learning and distance managing .
Increasing Trend of 360 Image Virtual Environment
Panoramic virtual reality can create highly realistic and detailed representations of the real environment while giving users a sense of immersion ( Pereira et al ., 2017 ). 360 cameras have huge potential across domains such as retail , construction , tourism and even cultural heritage due to its versatility enabling users to capture the world with an omni-directional view with just one shot ( Fangi et al ., 2018 ). Advances in computer technology led to 3D modelling and visualisation that is now commonly being used in
46 VOL 96 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2023