Overview: Virtual Reality in Medicine

Abstract

Background: Virtual Reality (VR) was defined as a collection of technological devices: "a computer capable of interactive 3D visualization, a head-mounted display and data gloves equipped with one or more position trackers". Today, lots of scientists define VR as a simulation of the real world based on computer graphics, a three dimensional world in which communities of real people interact, create content, items and services, producing real economic value through e-Commerce.

Role of virtual reality in congenital heart disease

“…Virtual reality (VR) is broadly defined as a three‐dimensional (3D) simulation of the real‐world, with the ability for a user to interact directly with the simulation . VR integrates imaging data and user input into a unified graphical output, often onto a wearable technology like a headset . Originally, VR flourished in the gaming community, though its use in medicine dates back to the early 1990s .…”

“…VR integrates imaging data and user input into a unified graphical output, often onto a wearable technology like a headset . Originally, VR flourished in the gaming community, though its use in medicine dates back to the early 1990s . In its earliest applications to biomedicine, VR was largely applied to the behavioral sciences, though the advent of “controllers,” or sensors that track hand position and movements in real time have vastly expanded the ability to interact with the virtual space and thus its applications to surgery.…”

“…Originally, VR flourished in the gaming community, though its use in medicine dates back to the early 1990s . In its earliest applications to biomedicine, VR was largely applied to the behavioral sciences, though the advent of “controllers,” or sensors that track hand position and movements in real time have vastly expanded the ability to interact with the virtual space and thus its applications to surgery. Presently, VR is widely used in medicine, from stroke rehabilitation, to tools for trainees to learn how to perform laparoscopic surgery …”

“…Beyond surgical planning, VR has also been utilized as a training tool for residents and medical students . Simulators can incorporate VR to immerse trainees in a virtual rendering of a range of different procedures, particularly with laparoscopic procedures .…”

Surgeon design interface for patient-specific concentric tube robots

“…The use of virtual reality in a medical context is rapidly growing, especially in the areas of medical education and surgical simulation [10]. In medical education and training, researchers have used virtual reality as a means to explore the interrelationship of anatomical structures, as well as a means to train and provide objective assessment to new doctors [11].…”