Virtual Reality for Health Care
L. Beolchi, Giuseppe Riva · 2003
The basis for the virtual reality (VR) idea is that a computer can synthesise a three-dimensional (3-D) graphical environment from numerical data. Using visual and auditory output devices, the human operator can experience the environment as if it were a part of the world. This computer-generated world may be either a model of a real-world object, such as a house; or an abstract world that does not exist in a real sense but is understood by humans, such as a chemical molecule or a representation of a set of data; or it might be in a completely imaginary science fiction world. Furthermore, because input devices sense the operator's reactions and motions, the operator can modify the synthetic environment, creating the illusion of interacting with and thus being immersed within the environment. The following topics are covered here: VR and telepresence; Definitions; Technology overview; Market analysis; Virtual reality in health care; and Telemedicine.