Artificial Intelligence in Medical Metaverse: Applications, Challenges, and Future Prospects

The medical metaverse is a combination of medicine, computer science, information technology and other cutting-edge technologies. It redefines the method of information interaction about doctor-patient communication, medical education and research through the integration of medical data, knowledge and services in a virtual environment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a discipline that uses computer technology to study and develop human intelligence. AI has infiltrated every aspect of medical metaverse and is deeply integrated with the technologies that build medical metaverse, such as large language models (LLMs), digital twins, blockchain and extended reality (including VR/AR/XR). AI has become an integral part of the medical metaverse building process. Moreover, AI also provides richer medical metaverse functions, including diagnosis, education, and consulting. This paper aims to introduce how AI supports the development of medical metaverse, including its specific application scenarios, shortcomings and future development. Our goal is to contribute to the advancement of more sophisticated and intelligent medical methods.