VR (virtual reality) is a computer-based technology that recreates three-dimensional (3D) environments, allowing users to explore virtual worlds and interact with them through various devices. Virtual reality can be seen on mobile device screens as well as virtual reality rooms on head-mounted displays or virtual reality goggles. VR also enables the user to manipulate 3D models of human bodies and physical environment through first-person interactions with these models, which are referred to as avatars.
Ivan Sutherland, a Harvard University professor in 1968, invented an eye-mounted display that was feasible (figure 1-17). The display was made up of miniature cathode ray tubes that provided stereoscopic visual images for each eye, and ultrasonic and mechanical tracking to enable user movement within a virtual space. The advancement of the VR technology platform is fueled by the advancements in computer processing and the creation of new computer graphics technologies. Oxford Medical Systems, the precursor to Vicon Motion Systems, develops the first commercial motion capture (MoCap) system in 1984. Silicon Graphics, Inc. creates the VLSI Graphics Engine which provides an extremely fast workstation that has been used by many VR facilities for years.
VR has been shown to improve knowledge and skills in health professions education when compared with less interactive digital learning strategies however it isn’t certain if these effects translate into positive outcomes for patients. VR has been proven to decrease both the health care provider as well as the patient’s stress. Nijland et al. found that ICU nurses who used VR relaxation during breaks reported significantly less stress than those who did not use VR. It is important to note that the duration of VR applications may cause hyperstimulation and cybersickness in certain patients.
You’ll be interested: Etodolac