What happens when simulations get real and cosmetic dermatology goes virtual?

The healthcare sector is next to investigate this groundbreaking digital innovation that promises to revolutionize our medical ecosystem. This was made possible by utilizing the benefits of augmented reality (AR) and virtual gaming for health.1 The metaverse holds immense promise in revolutionizing health care by leveraging AI for disease prevention, diagnosis, and education. Its transformative impact on medicine benefits both clinicians and patients, as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic. AI-driven solutions enable prevention, prediction, diagnosis, and education, while optimizing learning and research experiences through personalized virtual models for healthcare providers.2 Examples of its use in health care include chatbots for mental health, AI-assisted surgery, and virtual healthcare assistants.3 Similarly, an AI application like ChatGPT* is another way to sift through millions of references and pull out relevant information. ChatGPT works as a virtual assistant to help eliminate errors, personalize treatment, remove geographical boundaries, and request handling capacity. For patients, the biggest benefit of AI in medicine is accuracy in diagnosis, prevention, and education. The performance of AI models is promising due to their high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The reproducibility of the performance models in real-life practice has been reported as a critical point.4 As mentioned prior, AI has already become the forerunner in health care in terms of precision, speed, and safety. According to some studies, the use of virtual reality (VR) in health care provides the benefit of 230% improvement in surgical performance in comparison with traditional training methods; procedures are completed 29% faster when trained in VR, and the risk of errors is 6 times lower.5 In the future, AI will continue to evolve and have this powerful impact on the healthcare system and society as a whole. Moreover, AI lowers healthcare expenses by reducing rates of morbidity and mortality, improving the effectiveness of the healthcare system, in lowering healthcare expenditures by reducing the number of unnecessary interventions, hospital visits, and automating some operations. In order to set out the loop holes that AI can bring to cosmetic dermatology, it is of utmost significance to mark the points of attraction that AI can have for cosmetic dermatology. To this purpose, we will go over the improvements that AI suggests to the field of cosmetic dermatology and then we will jot down research gaps for future publications. Studies have shown that 30% of diagnosed diseases globally are dermatological and a significant portion of these processes have led to misdiagnoses. These facts leave no doubt about the necessity of more accurate prevention, diagnosis, and education in the field of dermatology.6 AI is revolutionizing dermatology by creating a comprehensive model based on various dermatological architectures worldwide. Its increasing use, particularly in skin cancer detection, has integrated AI into daily dermatological practice. AI's potential extends to tumor detection, classification, grading, molecular characterization, treatment personalization, drug discovery, and clinical research. Moreover, AI tools aid primary care clinicians in accurate skin analysis and diagnosis, particularly for imperceptible features, ensuring better observations and consistent measures.7 Dermatologists perform one-third of all cosmetic procedures in the United States.7 As a very popular subcategory of dermatology, cosmetic dermatology and the market related to it have already indicated significant interest in the use of AI to its benefit.8 AI-implemented techniques, procedures, and devices in cosmetic dermatology have drawn the attention of both patients and physicians. For instance, tools for at-home skin analysis, and applications of AR to skincare tailored for individuals are only a few of these developments.9 Customizable skincare, AR applications, and at-home skin analysis tools empower patients to make informed decisions about their cosmetic care. AI provides physicians in predicting outcomes of cosmetic treatments. Yet, managing patient expectations remains a challenge for cosmetic dermatologists, requiring effective communication and personalized approaches. AI plays a crucial role in cosmetic dermatology by enhancing patient satisfaction through accurate analysis of baseline and post-treatment skin conditions. By aligning patient expectations with achievable goals, AI-driven tools like high-definition cameras and handheld devices enable objective skin analysis. This article highlights four key areas where AI contributes to cosmetic procedures, recognizing its broader impact in the field. AI can be used to diagnose hair disorders. It can also be used for hair restoration whereby it helps in hair detection and hair growth management through fully automated systems. The result of these improvements has come in the form of an innovative hair restoration method using robots for FUE-type hair transplantation.10 The benefits of AR ranges from accessing patient log, which includes their previous procedures, to projecting anatomical landmarks on the patient's body during the procedure. The availability of such data during the procedure could reduce physician error and minimize bleeding or other complications. Exact reproducibility in cosmetic dermatological procedures is an unimaginable dream realized by physicians through integrating patient data into the procedure. For instance, many patients evaluate their injections differently every time they visit their dermatologist. AR can repeat procedures exactly and avoid waste of expensive cosmetic dermatology materials by accurate dosing.11 For a better performance of AI with cosmetic dermatology, a huge database on physicochemical and rheological properties of the materials must be developed in parallel. So here we can point out the importance of interaction of AI robot-assisted injections and the big pharma. Laser procedures can have unexpected complications if not performed accurately. Robots can help us adjust the movement of the handpiece, monitor the depth of tissue heating, and avoid critical facial landmarks. These features result in better outcomes by avoiding burns, and scarring caused by aggressive photo thermolysis and increasing the uniformity with which the facial skin is treated. AI can also play an important role in post-treatment care. This is carried out by logging the patient's medical history into application interfaces involving the physician. Consequently, doctors can provide continuous and logistically easy follow-ups on patients regarding complications such as hyperpigmentation, edema, and erythema. The next generation of cosmetic dermatology can benefit from AI technology in skin analysis and skincare. AI can expand skincare accessibility thus democratizing it. AI can assist in closing the gap between physicians and cosmetic suppliers in the chain of cosmetic dermatology. Another aspect worth mentioning is the assessment and measuring capacities that AI can improve. Assessment of cosmetic ingredients using AI can be a reliable scientific method in the process of characterizing the side effects of certain products.12 These applications augment clinicians' diagnostic ability with accuracy and greater confidence and show the prediction probabilities. It is not all roses. AI has the potential to revolutionize cosmetic dermatology, but there are several challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges include the need for high-quality data. AI algorithms rely on large datasets to learn and improve their accuracy. However, in dermatology, there is a lack of standardized datasets that can be used for AI training, as well as a lack of diversity in the available datasets. This can lead to biases and inaccuracies in the AI predictions, which can result in misdiagnosis or incorrect treatment recommendations. Another challenge is the potential for AI to replace human dermatologists. While AI can help with diagnosis and treatment recommendations, it cannot replace the expertise and experience of a trained dermatologist. Patients may also prefer to receive personalized care from a human physician rather than a machine, especially when it comes to cosmetic procedures that can have a significant impact on their appearance. Ethical concerns also arise with the use of AI in cosmetic dermatology. For example, AI may be used to create images of patients with simulated results of cosmetic procedures, which can be misleading and give patients unrealistic expectations. In addition, there are concerns about the use of AI-generated images in advertising, which can contribute to the promotion of unrealistic beauty standards and the perpetuation of harmful beauty ideals. Lastly, there should be clear guidelines for the use of AI in cosmetic dermatology, including data privacy, informed consent, and responsible advertising practices. By addressing these challenges, we can ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically in cosmetic dermatology, to the benefit of both patients and healthcare professionals.13 In a world where our reality has already started to be augmented and mixed with AI, we can safely claim that part of the world will be the metaverse. Health is an integral part of that reality; thus, it is only reasonable to think that AI in health care is revolutionizing how health care is provided. An advantage of using AI in health care is its efficiency in managing massive data, which subsequently leads to improvements in diagnostic processing time and accuracy. AI has the potential to revolutionize cosmetic dermatology, but there are several challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges include the need for high-quality data, the potential for AI to replace human dermatologists, ethical concerns, and the need for regulatory oversight. By addressing these challenges, we can ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically in cosmetic dermatology, to the benefit of both patients and healthcare professionals. In the future, AI will be at the forefront of personalized medicine.14 The adoption of these new technologies is expected to result in new working practices and a need to re-think their everyday applications. DH had the concept for the review article and performed the majority of the writing, with assistance from HC, DC, HG, ML, and AH. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. Authors declare human ethics approval was not needed for this study. The data that support the findings of this study are available on references' part.