Virtual reality for health care: a survey

Area of Science:

• Medical Technology
• Health Informatics
• Virtual Reality in Healthcare

Background:

• Virtual environments and related technologies are increasingly applied in healthcare.
• Current applications span surgical procedures, medical therapy, education, and facility design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey the state of the art in virtual environment applications for healthcare.
• To identify current and future benefits, including improved quality and cost savings.
• To highlight areas requiring further research and development.

Main Methods:

• Review of current virtual environment applications in healthcare.
• Analysis of technological advancements and their impact on medical practices.
• Identification of research gaps and future directions.

Main Results:

• Virtual environments are utilized in surgical planning, simulation, telepresence, and augmented surgery.
• Applications extend to medical therapy, preventive medicine, patient education, and medical training.
• These technologies aid in visualizing large medical databases and in rehabilitation.
• Architectural design for healthcare facilities also benefits from virtual environment applications.

Conclusions:

• Virtual environment applications have demonstrably improved healthcare quality.
• Significant cost savings are anticipated with the continued development and adoption of these technologies.
• Further large-scale research is essential for user studies, robotic telepresence, enhanced system reality, and improved functionality.