The world is still scrambling to defeat the novel coronavirus disease or COVID-19 as it continues to infect thousands of people each day and claiming hundreds of lives, and now a 3D video of a critically ill coronavirus patient's ravaged lungs has been released by doctors.
Coronavirus in 3D 360VR Video
According to a report by CNN, the patient is a 59-year-old American male who was generally healthy before contracting COVID-19, the disease brought upon by the new coronavirus.
Additionally, the patient has no other underlying significant health issues besides high blood pressure.
The 3D 360VR video was released by the doctors of the George Washington University Hospital located in Washington, D.C., where the patient was transferred and is now admitted.
According to Dr. Keith Mortman, George Washington University Hospital's chief of thoracic surgery, the critically ill coronavirus patient and his lungs "are failing to function properly," and the 360VR video shows the extensive damage caused by COVID-19.
COVID-19 Patient Now Critically Ill
Mortman also shared that since becoming extremely ill, the patient now requires a ventilator so he can breathe, which is already in its highest setting but is still not enough and that he needs another machine that helps in circulating and oxygenating his blood.
"This is not a 70, 80-year-old immunosuppressed, diabetic patient," the doctor said. "This is a guy who's minding his own business and gets it. If we were to repeat the 360VR images now, that is one week later, and there is a chance that the infection and inflammatory process could be worse."
In the virtual reality video, the yellow spots on the patient's lungs are the areas that have been infected and inflamed.
From the video, experts were also able to see that the problem was not localized and instead, has spread to both lungs and has covered a massive area, showing how aggressive the virus could be and how it can rapidly cause severe damage to a patient, even if they are younger and generally healthy.
There are still blue spots throughout the lungs, especially on the bronchial tree, which denotes healthy areas that aren't yet infected and damaged.
As of writing, the patient is still in critical condition and is currently in the ICU.
Read also: Coronavirus Update: Doctors and Hospitals Consider a Do-Not-Resuscitate Policy for COVID-19 Patients
The Difference Between Healthy and Infected Lungs
The video shows how different a healthy lung is to an infected one, and Mortman even said that the contrast is too stark that "you don't need an MD after your name" to understand what's going on in the video.
The damages could also be long-term, especially when it evolves to severe inflammation.
"I want people to see this and understand what this can do," the expert said. "People need to take this seriously."
Coronavirus Pandemic
Based on a report by the Daily Mail, around 80% of coronavirus patients only have a mild infection and show mild symptoms, including dry cough and fever.
Meanwhile, 20% of those who have tested positive on COVID-19 have been hospitalized, and around 14% have become severely ill.
Out of all the coronavirus patients, only 6% have fallen extremely ill that their lungs have already failed.
