The Visible Man and Visible Woman form part of the National Library of Medicine's project to build a digital biomedical library representing the entire anatomy of a man and a woman in volumetric electronic data, obtained by scanning millimetric cross-sectional slices of frozen cadavers. The work was carried out at the University of Colorado's Health Sciences Centre. The Satava award is given each year at "Medicine Meets Virtual Reality" to an individual demonstrating unique vision and commitment to the transformation of medicine through communication.
It is still early days for VR in medicine but the technology is gaining credibility among the medical community, whilst the superior price/performance ratios of today's hardware is making virtual reality more acceptable from an economic standpoint. As momentum continues to grow, the future looks bright for this technology sector.
Simulation of Eye Diseases in a Virtual Environment
Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being used in medical training and education. In most of these applications, VR is used to improve the visual fidelity of the simulated objects. In this paper we investigate the potential of using VR to simulate visual deterioration caused by disease processes. The first person interactive nature of VR provides mechanisms for these visualisations which are not present in other media such as video, film or print. A virtual apartment has been created so that these visual problems can be simulated in a familiar context. Computer-generated image masks are used to model visual field loss caused by glaucoma. Diploma is created by supplying incorrect viewing directions in the virtual environment. Macular degeneration is simulated by warping the central area of the simulated environment. This first person experience of the visual impairments can be used to teach medical professionals to recognise the kinds of problems which their patients may be experiencing and to increase the sensitivity of friends and family to the patients' difficulties. It may even help to convince noncompliant patients of the serious nature of their disease and increase their adherence with medical protocols.
Medical conditions simulated:
Glaucoma, Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Diplopia
Simulation algorithms:
Glaucoma: visual field masks, AMD: central view field warping, Diplopia: un-parallel viewing direction
|
 |
Train medical students to
complete surgery on the human heart
Train surgeons in micro
surgery
|
