Virtual Technology Review

VR (virtual reality) is a technology based on computers that simulates three-dimensional (3D) environments that let users explore virtual worlds and interact with them on different devices. Virtual reality can be viewed on mobile device screens and virtual reality rooms that are head-mounted displays, or with virtual reality goggles. VR allows the user to interact with 3D models of bodies and environments in a first-person mode. These models are referred to as avatars.

Ivan Sutherland, a Harvard University professor in 1968, created a head-mounted display system that was feasible (figure 1-17). The system consisted of miniature cathode ray tubes which provided stereoscopic visual images for each eye and mechanical and ultrasonic tracking to allow user movement in a virtual world. The VR technology platform was created due to advances in computer graphics and computer processing. Oxford Medical Systems (the predecessor to Vicon Motion Systems) develops the first commercial Motion Capture (MoCap) system in 1984. Silicon Graphics, Inc., develops the VLSI Graphics Engine which is a an extremely fast workstation that has been used by many VR facilities for years.

It has been demonstrated that VR has the ability to improve knowledge and skills for health professionals education when in comparison to less interactive online learning programs. However, it is not yet clear if these effects translate into improved outcomes for patients. VR has been proven to decrease both the health care provider and the patient stress. Nijland et al. found that ICU nurses who used VR during breaks had significantly less stress than those who did not use VR. However it gaming computer review is crucial to realize that the length of the VR application could cause overstimulation and cybersickness in some patients.