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At least 613 records · Page 34Linked to original sources

PubMed2000

Virtual reality as telemedicine tool: technology, ergonomics and actual applications.

This paper surveys the state of the art in telemedicine applications of virtual environments (VEs) and related technologies for health care. The possible use of VEs as telemedicine tool has attracted much interest in medicine. Actually this technology is commonly used in remote or augmented surgery, and surgical training, which are critically dependent upon eye-hand coordination. Recently, however, different researchers have tried to use VEs in anatomic learning and for the assessment and rehabilitation in neuro-psychology. To date, such applications have improved the quality of health care, and later they will lead to substantial cost savings. Tools that respond to the needs of present VE systems are being refined or developed. However, the possible use of VEs in telemedicine is not linked to the solution of technical problems only. In fact telemedicine is not simply a technology but a complex process whose successful exploitation needs significant attention to ergonomics, human factors and organizational changes in the structure of the relevant health service.

Ergonomics↗

PubMed2000

Orthopedic rehabilitation using the "Rutgers ankle" interface.

A novel ankle rehabilitation device is being developed for home use, allowing remote monitoring by therapists. The system will allow patients to perform a variety of exercises while interacting with a virtual environment (VE). These game-like VEs created with WorldToolKit run on a host PC that controls the movement and output forces of the device via an RS232 connection. Patients will develop strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance as they interact with the VEs. The device will also perform diagnostic functions, measuring the ankle's range of motion, force exertion capabilities and coordination. The host PC transparently records patient progress for remote evaluation by therapists via our existing telerehabilitation system. The "Rutgers Ankle" Orthopedic Rehabilitation Interface uses double-acting pneumatic cylinders, linear potentiometers, and a 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) force sensor. The controller contains a Pentium single-board computer and pneumatic control valves. Based on the Stewart platform, the device can move and supply forces and torques in 6 DOFs. A proof-of-concept trial conducted at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) provided therapist and patient feedback. The system measured the range of motion and maximum force output of a group of four patients (male and female). Future medical trials are required to establish clinical efficacy in rehabilitation.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Trauma training: virtual reality applications.

Training medics, medical students, nurses, and residents to perform trauma care skills presents many obstacles. These include: emergent nature of the procedures, instructor time, availability of clinical material, and anatomic knowledge. Virtual Reality simulators address each of these obstacles. The National Capital Area Medical Simulation Center is a unique national asset that not only uses state-of-the-art simulators to teach trauma care skills to medical students and others, but adapts existing technology and develops new simulations to teach these skills. Most standard trauma training is performed on either mannequins or anesthetized animals and requires the constant presence of an instructor. VR applications can be stand-alone devices that have built-in scenarios and multiple patients to increase variation and/or level of technical expertise required to successfully complete the required steps of the trauma procedure. Commercial VR simulators to teach trauma skills include: CathSim Intravenous Simulator (HT Medical), UltraSim Ultrasound Simulator (MedSim), Limb Trauma Simulator (Musculographics/BDI), and the Human Patient Simulator (MedSim). Additionally, we have developed two additional simulators based on the HT CathSim; these are the pericardiocentesis simulator and the diagnostic peritoneal lavage simulator. Future applications include virtual environment triage simulation and surgical airway simulators.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed2001

Surgical trainee assessment using a VE knee arthroscopy training system (VE-KATS): experimental results.

Previous work has described the development of a Virtual Environment Knee Arthroscopy Training System (VE-KATS): a collaborative project between the Orthopaedic Department, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, U.K., and the Department of Computer Science, University of Hull, U.K. This work describes the initial results obtained by Orthopaedic Surgical Trainees using VE-KATS. The results showed that differences between individual trainees could be measured using the scoring system incorporated within VE-KATS. There was a weak correlation with the seniority of the surgical trainees.

Arthroscopy↗

PubMed2001

Measuring in vivo animal soft tissue properties for haptic modeling in surgical simulation.

To provide data for the design of virtual environments and teleoperated systems for surgery, it is necessary to measure tissue properties under both in vivo and ex vivo conditions. The former provides information about tissue behavior in its physiological state, while the latter can provide better control over experimental conditions. We have developed devices to measure tissue properties under extension and indentation, as well as to record instrument-tissue interaction forces. We are creating a web database of data recorded from porcine abdominal tissues.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2001

Employing 3D virtual reality games to develop ANN for device control: a pilot study.

Non-immersive virtual reality (VR) game scenarios were developed to aid in the collection of EMG parameters from the biceps and triceps while subjects performed a sequenced series of tasks in the virtual environment. For each subject the best ANN configuration (combination of hidden layers and transfer functions) was chosen, with the resulting optimized algorithms used to classify the sequence of contractions and the function type of the subjects while playing new game scenarios. The wide variety of individually configured ANN developed show why it is difficult to train new users of myoelectric devices with a single algorithm. The use of VR-based games shows promise as a training technique for individuals needing to develop control for prosthetic limbs.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

[Effect of the configuration of a route on distance perception].

Numerous studies have been carried out to investigate the knowledge of route distance in environmental space. Evidence suggests that the knowledge of distance is influenced by the environmental features and structures of the route. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect this knowledge. In particular, the aim was to determine the role of the structure versus that of characteristic environmental features along the route. In two experiments, it was found that the knowledge of distance was not affected by the structure alone. Rather it was determined by the environmental features along the route. Participants seem to infer the environmental distance between two locations indirectly using successively perceived and stored retrievable features. It could be shown in a third experiment that in an intentional learning condition--in contrast to an incidental condition--, the number of environmental features does not seem to influence distance knowledge. In this condition, a direct retrieval of information appears to be possible. The experiments took place in a virtual environment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[CAD/CAM technology-elaboration of electronic model through optical impression in the fabrication of the dental prostheses by a computer assisted device].

In modern CAD/CAM technology of dental prosthetics, the "optical impression" taken by special video cameras deploying 3D-recording of the oral situation (Cerec 1, Cerec 2) initiates the computer-generated production of a digital model. The computer receives and renders the digital data obtained through "optical impression" i.e. data acquisition not as a "negative" of the oral situation but as a "positive" copy of it, namely as a digital model in a virtual environment which can be displayed on the screen and be further used in the fabrication of dental prostheses by means of a computer-assisted device (CAM or CIM).

Computer-Aided Design↗

PubMed2003

The assessment of stability and reliability of a virtual reality-based laparoscopic gynecology simulation system.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: Surgeons require practiced skills in laparoscopic surgery. A virtual reality-based simulator system was developed for extensive training. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a virtual reality-based laparoscopic gynecology simulation system. METHODS: Laparoscopic tools and three-dimensional virtual environments were included in the simulation system. Ten healthy, non-disabled volunteers were recruited. The surgical procedure is a process of tubal sterilization by cauterization. Volunteers followed the training procedure, 15 trials in the first test and retest, respectively. RESULTS: Stable performances were obtained after about seven trials for all subjects. The intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.935 and 0.425 for task time and error frequency, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the system is stable and has a fair high test-retest reliability. Therefore, the VR-based laparoscopic gynecology system is feasible.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Cognitive strategies dependent on the hippocampus and caudate nucleus in human navigation: variability and change with practice.

The human brain activity related to strategies for navigating in space and how it changes with practice was investigated with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subjects used two different strategies to solve a place-learning task in a computer-generated virtual environment. One-half of the subjects used spatial landmarks to navigate in the early phase of training, and these subjects showed increased activation of the right hippocampus. The other half used a nonspatial strategy and showed, with practice, sustained increased activity within the caudate nucleus during navigation. Activation common to both groups was observed in the posterior parietal and frontal cortex. These results provide the first evidence for spontaneous variability and shift in neural mechanisms during navigation in humans.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Robot-based tele-echography: the TER system.

This paper presents a master-slave robotized system enabling a remote echographic diagnosis. The expert holds a virtual probe placed on a haptic device; he moves this virtual probe in order to control the motion of the real probe positioned on the body of the patient located remotely. The real probe is placed on a lightweight and user-friendly slave robot and moved by it. The contact force between the probe and the patient is fed back to the operator allowing him to have a haptic virtual environment. The aim of this haptic control is to preserve the medical expert proprioception in order to the facilitate hand-eye coordination necessary to echographic examination. In this paper we present the architecture of the system and experimental results.

France↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reflections on the role of faculty in distance learning and changing pedagogies.

The increasing number of nursing faculty teaching in distance education programs represents a paradigm shift that has implications for faculty role and changing pedagogies. This descriptive study investigated experiences of nursing faculty teaching web-based courses. Participants were drawn from eight nursing schools in the United States and Canada. Nineteen faculty discussed perceptions of teaching online in small-group teleconference interviews. Major categories identified were: faculty role issues, redesigning/rethinking courses, handling communications, developing partnerships, managing time, and dealing with technology. The core category was: redesigning pedagogies and rethinking faculty role for online teaching. Dimensional analysis was used to develop a matrix telling the story of the experience within the perspectives of antecedent conditions, context, strategies, and consequences. Results indicated that support systems, technology partnerships, and policies should be in place before redesign. The context of redesign was evident in moving from "on stage" to a virtual environment. Strategies used to redesign courses included collaboration, rethinking communications, and faculty development. Consequences had positive and negative outcomes with respect to their impact on faculty role, teaching approaches, and student/faculty relationships.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Technological background of VR.

User interface (UI) design is a critical component of any virtual environment (VE) application, and especially for VE applied to medicine. User interfaces for VE are becoming more diverse. Mice, keyboards, windows, menus, and icons--the standard parts of traditional WIMP interfaces--are still prevalent, but nontraditional devices and interface components are proliferating rapidly. These include spatial input devices such as trackers, 3-D pointing devices, and whole-hand devices allowing gestural input. Three-dimensional, multisensory output technologies--such as stereoscopic projection displays, head-mounted displays (HMDs), spatial audio systems, and haptic devices--are also becoming more common. In this chapter we present a brief overview of 3-D interaction and user interfaces technologies for VE.

Computer Systems↗

PubMed2002

Navigation by walking around: using the Pressure Mat to move in virtual worlds.

This paper describes a new virtual reality (VR) locomotion input device, the Pressure Mat, which allows a simulator user to navigate/traverse a virtual environment (VE) using similar motions as in the real world; i.e., walk, run, crawl. The device consists of an array of pressure sensitive resistors covered by a thin, flexible mat. The resistor array is connected to a personal computer (PC) that uses a real-time pattern recognition algorithm to determine if the user is standing still, or walking forward, backward, left or right. The information from the Pressure Mat was used to allow users to navigate in a VE. The Pressure Mat may also be useful in the diagnosis of a variety of conditions and/or in rehabilitative therapy.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMed2002

Using stereoscopy for medical virtual reality.

The use of stereoscopy to enhance the immersive experience obtained from a virtual environment is well known, and many medical applications can benefit from this technology. The stereoscopic projection sessions at the last two MMVR conferences contain many excellent examples. Stereoscopy need not be expensive to implement, and can easily be provided on a desktop PC. This paper looks at the different options available today, from active stereo, to passive stereo, to autostereoscopic displays, and their deployment on both high-end and low-end systems. The potential benefits of these different approaches are illustrated with examples from medical visualisation projects currently being carried out at the Manchester Visualization Centre (MVC).

Depth Perception↗

PubMed2002

The communication between therapist and patient in virtual reality: the role of mediation played by computer technology.

Even if the number of reported application is constantly increasing, understanding how to use immersive virtual reality (VR) to support clinical practice presents a substantial challenge for the designers and users of this emerging technology. These opposite faces are resulting from the peculiar characteristics of VR. In fact, VR is not simply a particular collection of technological hardware, but can be considered as a new medium defined in terms of its effect on both basic and major psychological processes. In particular, the essence of VR is the inclusive relationship between the participant and the virtual environment, where direct experience of the immersive environment constitutes communication. Starting from this vision, the chapter tries to outline a theoretical framework for supporting the development and tuning of clinical oriented VR systems.

Attention↗

PubMed2002

A generic arthroscopy simulator architecture.

Virtual Environments offer considerable potential to improve training for arthroscopic surgery. However, current systems are developed for individual joints, which requires healthcare providers to purchase and maintain multiple environments with differing interfaces and capabilities. This paper describes a generic arthroscopy system architecture that allows the fast development of training environments for any joint, each sharing a common user-interface. The use of the architecture in developing a simple ankle simulator is also described.

Anatomy, Regional↗

PubMed2004

Presence in three interconnected contexts: considerations for nursing education in the 21st century.

Online nursing education has grown tremendously over the past decade and there is every reason to believe that this growth will continue in the 21st century. "Presence" is concept that has familiarity in nursing, education, and technology. With the convergence of these three interrelated contexts, presence holds a new level of interest for nursing education. "Connecting with," "being with," and/or "being available" to another in a virtual world poses challenges for nurse educators as they turn their focus on student satisfaction in online courses, connecting with others in ways that enhance learning, and exploring ways of "being with" or "connecting with" patients in both traditional and virtual environments of care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗