Virtual Reality News and Research

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Study: Watching avatar model weight-loss behavior in virtual community may help reduce weight

An estimated two-thirds of all Americans are overweight or obese and many find it difficult to lose weight and keep it off. They've tried fad diets, exercise programs, diet pills and other methods but the battle continues. Now, a new study suggests that watching an avatar model weight-loss behavior in a virtual community might help some women shed pounds in the real world.

1 Jul 2013

Study examines effectiveness of VRET on agoraphobia, panic disorder

A number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy in specific phobias, but research in  seriously impaired patients with agoraphobia is lacking.

27 May 2013

The Immortality Project awards $2.3M to study near-death experiences, beliefs in afterlife

Phenomena related to near-death experiences, immortality in virtual reality, and genes that prevent a species of freshwater hydra from aging are among the first research proposals funded by The Immortality Project at the University of California, Riverside.

23 May 2013

New prototype allows patients with severe functional disability to be more active and independent

The European R&D project BrainAble, led by Barcelona Digital, has just successfully ended by developing a prototype that allows patients with severe functional disability to be more active and independent.

18 May 2013

New challenges to military medicine

Better body armor and rapid aeromedical evacuations enable American service members to survive blasts that would have proved fatal in Vietnam or even the first Gulf War, but they pose new challenges to military medicine - how to deal with the excruciating pain of injuries, especially severe burns from IED blasts that body armor can't protect.

13 May 2013

Study: Surgeons training in robotic surgery learned best when three different teaching methods are used

By developing a new way to compare techniques for teaching robotic surgery, doctors at The Methodist Hospital and the University of Southern California report in an upcoming issue of the British Journal of Urology International that surgeons training in robotic surgery learned best when three different teaching methods were used.

6 May 2013

Virtual reality reveals new clues on how cells determine place

Leaving the house in the morning may seem simple, but with every move we make, our brains are working feverishly to create maps of the outside world that allow us to navigate and to remember where we are.

4 May 2013

Haptics improve outcomes in people with visual prosthetics

Normal vision is essentially a spatial sense that often relies upon touch and movement during and after development, there is often a correlation between how an object looks and how it feels. Moreover, as a child's senses develop, there is cross-referencing between the various senses. Indeed, where the links between the senses are not made, there may be developmental problems or delays. This should be taken into consideration when training new users of visual prosthetics, artificial retinas, or bionic eyes, suggest researchers in Australia.

2 May 2013

Second Life: A web-based virtual reality program for weight loss

Weight loss is a topic of concern for nearly 36% of Americans who are considered obese. There are many barriers that can interfere with weight loss. For those attending face-to-face weight loss programs, barriers can include travel, conflict with work and home, need for childcare, and loss of anonymity.

26 Apr 2013

CAVE: New virtual reality system from UPC

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) presents a new multi-projector CAVE, designed and built in its entirety by the Virtual Modelling, Visualisation, Interaction and Virtual Reality Research Group (MOVING).

22 Apr 2013

Research: Children and teens with ASD more likely to develop addictive patterns of video game play

Children and teens with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) use screen-based media, such as television and video games, more often than their typically developing peers and are more likely to develop problematic video game habits, a University of Missouri researcher found.

18 Apr 2013

Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine to host conference on mannequins, simulation technology

Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine is hosting a conference on mannequins and other simulation technology that increasingly is being used to train doctors and nurses.

5 Apr 2013

SFU, Fraser Health poised to become medical technology leaders

Research endowment links SFU, Fraser Health as medical technology leaders Simon Fraser University and Fraser Health Authority are poised to become leaders in medical research and technology innovation with the launch of a $5.25 million Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation B.C. Leadership Chair in Multimodal Technology for Healthcare Innovation.

2 Feb 2013

Fifteen established scientists to receive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) announced the latest recipients of its highly competitive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants.

16 Jan 2013

Special supplement to Neurosurgery presents updates on emerging technologies for brain surgery

Robotic technologies have the potential to help neurosurgeons perform precise, technically demanding operations, together with virtual reality environments to help them navigate through the brain, according to a special supplement to Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

21 Dec 2012

Operating room distractions can contribute to major errors by young surgeons

A study has found that young, less-experienced surgeons made major surgical mistakes almost half the time during a "simulated" gall bladder removal when they were distracted by noises, questions, conversation or other commotion in the operating room.

1 Dec 2012

Chalmers researcher develops world's first implantable robotic arm controlled by thoughts

The world's first implantable robotic arm controlled by thoughts is being developed by Chalmers researcher Max Ortiz Catalan. The first operations on patients will take place this winter.

28 Nov 2012

Surgery simulation ‘catapults’ trainees' abilities

Study findings indicate that simulator training for otorhinolaryngology residents results in equal, if not superior, performance compared with traditional training that involves finite repetition of live procedures.

22 Nov 2012

Online presence can positively affect physical health and well-being

Internet-based interactive games and social media outlets have become intertwined with the physical realities of millions of people around the world. When an individual strongly identifies with the cyber representation of themselves, known as an avatar, the electronic doppelganger can influence that person's health and appearance, according to a University of Missouri researcher's study.

7 Nov 2012

iLarynx app effective at simulating fiberoptic bronchoscopy

A study presented during the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2012 annual meeting has shown that an iPhone application called iLarynx was so effective at simulating fiberoptic bronchoscopy that when app-trained students eventually used a real bronchoscope on a manikin, they completed the procedure in less than half the time than students exposed only to anatomy photos.

17 Oct 2012