Virtual Reality for Health Care: A Survey

Published

December 1, 1997

Author(s)

J A. Moline

Abstract

This report surveys the state of the art in applications of virtual environments and related technologies for health care. Applications of these technologies are being developed for health care in the following areas: surgical procedures (remote surgery or telepresence, augmented or enhanced surgery, and planning and simulation of procedures before surgery); medical therapy; preventive medicine and patient education; medical education and training; visualization of massive medical databases; skill enhancement and rehabilitation; and architectural design for health-care facilities. To date, such applications have improved the quality of health care, and in the future they will result in substantial cost savings. Tools that respond to the needs of present virtual environment systems are being refined or developed. However, additional large-scale research is necessary in the following areas: user studies, use of robots for telepresence procedures, enhanced system reality, and improved system functionality.

Citation

Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Volume

102

Issue

No. 3

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

surgical procedures, virtual environments

Citation

Moline, J. (1997), Virtual Reality for Health Care: A Survey, Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Accessed April 25, 2024)