Virtual Reality News and Research

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Fear of flying can be cured independently of YOH or after 4 sessions of VRET

This randomized controlled trial shows that fear of flying can be cured independently of drug condition [yohimbine hydrochloride (a noradrenaline agonist) or placebo] after 4 sessions of virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET).

15 Mar 2012

Scientists use novel system to discover sequential firing of neurons

Princeton University researchers have used a novel virtual reality and brain imaging system to detect a form of neural activity underlying how the brain forms short-term memories that are used in making decisions.

15 Mar 2012

Measuring wellbeing in Huntington’s disease

The new tool, the first Huntington’s disease-specific quality of life instrument of its kind, aims to fully capture the impact of this complex disease on the everyday life of sufferers. By using this new tool to more accurately measure the impact of Huntington’s and also any effect of therapeutic interventions, scientists will be in a better position to evaluate the usefulness of interventions on patients’ everyday quality of life to see if there is actually a practical benefit. It is hoped that in this way, this tool will lead to more effective treatments.

8 Mar 2012

New precise 3D scanner provides image in 12 seconds

Reliable and highly accurate raw data is needed to use 3D images of a person or object, for example for body measurement. The VITUS smart body scanner from VITRONIC generates an accurate 3D image during a scan of only 12 seconds. VITRONIC will present the VITUS smart body scanner at the 3D Body Scanning Technologies Asian Workshop in Tokyo, Japan.

8 Mar 2012

BrainAble project to offer benefits for people with motor disabilities

In the 2009 film Surrogates, humans live vicariously through robots while safely remaining in their own homes. That sci-fi future is still a long way off, but recent advances in technology, supported by EU funding, are bringing this technology a step closer to reality in order to give disabled people more autonomy and independence than ever before.

28 Feb 2012

Study confirms efficacy of CT Colonography as a front line colorectal cancer screening tool

Computerized tomographic (CT) colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy, is comparable to standard colonoscopy in its ability to accurately detect cancer and precancerous polyps in people ages 65 and older, according to a paper published online today in Radiology.

23 Feb 2012

University of Hawaii's ORS to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities

Kessler Foundation awarded a Signature Employment Grant in the amount of $425,000 to the Office of Research Services at the University of Hawaii, to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The Signature Employment Grant supports the development of a virtual reality (VR) software application, EmployAble: A World Without Barriers, to help jobseekers with disabilities navigate the world of job hunting and adapt to the workplace.

25 Jan 2012

Older adults with dementia can benefit from exergames

Virtual reality-enhanced exercise, or "exergames," combining physical exercise with computer-simulated environments and interactive videogame features, can yield a greater cognitive benefit for older adults than traditional exercise alone, according to a new study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

17 Jan 2012

Virtual reality technology will advance rehabilitation research for cognitive and physical disabilities

Kessler Foundation and the University of Southern California (USC) Institute for Creative Technologies will collaborate on clinical research projects applying virtual reality technology to cognitive and motor rehabilitation research.

11 Jan 2012

NYU medical students use online 3D interactive virtual human body

First-year students at NYU School of Medicine were introduced to a pioneering online 3D interactive virtual human body called the BioDigital Human. This unique educational experience supplements the traditional use of human cadavers in anatomy instruction by allowing students to both view and interact with realistically simulated 3D organs and other anatomical structures.

9 Jan 2012

U.S. DoD awards $11M to study two different ways to treat PTSD in war veterans

A team of researchers who have pioneered novel treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been awarded an $11 million, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to investigate the differences between virtual reality and traditional prolonged exposure therapy.

14 Dec 2011

We unconsciously make use of recent experiences during estimation processes

During estimation processes we unconsciously make use of recent experiences. Scientists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit-t (LMU) in Munich and the Bernstein Center Munich asked test subjects to estimate distances in a virtual reality environment.

29 Nov 2011

Scientists unravel how brain combines different sensory cues to make sense of our world

The human brain is bombarded with a cacophony of information from the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin. Now a team of scientists at the University of Rochester, Washington University in St. Louis, and Baylor College of Medicine has unraveled how the brain manages to process those complex, rapidly changing, and often conflicting sensory signals to make sense of our world.

21 Nov 2011

Psychotherapy could have diverse cerebral effects depending on certain genes

Problems like anxiety and depression are caused by psychological and environmental factors, and are known to be influenced by genetic proclivities. However, it is still not clear how each factor affects the brain's functions to induce anxious and depressive symptoms.

4 Nov 2011

Six prominent surgeons receive ACS' Honorary Fellowship

Honorary Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) was awarded to six prominent surgeons from South Africa, England, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, and the People's Republic of China last night during Convocation ceremonies that preceded the official opening of the College's 97th Annual Clinical Congress.

24 Oct 2011

Researchers gain insight on how roundworm's brain operates as it moves

Using new optical equipment, a team of 11 researchers put roundworms into a world of virtual reality, monitored both their behavior and brain activity and gained unexpected information on how the organism's brain operates as it moves.

4 Oct 2011

St. Jude Medical to again participate in Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, is pleased to again participate in the Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Session (APHRS), which is being held this year in conjunction with the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society (JHRS) and the Japanese Society of Electrocardiology (JSE) in Fukuoka, Japan.

16 Sep 2011

Simulation-based training is an effective way to teach medical and health professionals

An analysis led by Mayo Clinic researchers found that simulation-based training is an effective way to teach physicians, nurses, dentists, emergency medical technicians and other health professionals.

7 Sep 2011

Practice on virtual reality system may enhance surgical skills

A task simulator with 3D and tactile feedback can provide neurosurgeons in training with valuable practice in developing essential surgical skills, suggests a study in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

2 Sep 2011

Three articles explore new technologies in nursing

From nurse education to bedside nursing, nursing is experiencing an electronic makeover. Eighty seven percent of nursing schools now use high-fidelity mannequins to bring various levels of simulation to their students. Prescriber orders, previously written on paper, are now entered into a comprehensive electronic ordering system.

26 Aug 2011