Virtual Reality in Healthcare and Education

Table of Contents

Introduction
History
VR in Education
VR in Healthcare
Current Trends and Issues
Future of VR
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Virtual reality is often perceived as a contemporary phenomenon and a result of the rapid technological development typical for the modern world. However, the beginnings of this phenomenon can be found throughout human history that dates hundreds of years back. Naturally, they are very different from the virtual reality as it is known today, but they demonstrate that the idea of the VR has been dwelling in the minds of the outstanding individuals for a long time. Today, virtual reality is widely used in multiple fields, and it has made a large contribution to the fields of education and healthcare among others. This paper will explore the emergence and development of the VR and its influence on healthcare and education.

History

Viewing virtual reality as a means of creating a broader and deeper perspective of particular settings and locations, one may notice that the attempts of panoramic pictures and virtual presence were created centuries ago by the well-known painters (History of Virtual Reality par. 2).

The first technological attempts to create virtual reality occurred at the end of the 1950s when Morton Heilig built Sensorama, a machine re-creating the realistic perception of objects combining their 3D pictures, sounds, and smells (Virtual Reality Guide par. 3). During the 1960s, a few more inventions of head-mounted devices and goggles creating VR were released; they were used for entertainment and military training (Nelson par. 1).

Further, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, virtual and augmented reality has become a popular subject for movies such as Tron and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Nelson par. 4-5). Regardless of its massive popularity on TV, virtual reality has not made much progress integrating in the masses as a product (Schnipper 1). This technology functioned as a fascinating invention for the public and also became one of the helpful tools in science and research.

In the contemporary world, virtual reality devices are gaining popularity as a means of entertainment. They are particularly popular in computer gaming and amusement spheres.

VR in Education

Some of the first applications of virtual reality were in the field of the military where it has been used for educational purposes. With the help of virtual reality simulators, the military professionals were trained to operate machines, means of transportations and equipment of various types (Virtual Reality: History par. 7). The earliest simulations re-created the technology of driving tanks and steering ships. The first device of this type was the one nicknamed The Sword of Damocles (Burke para. 2).

The primary advantage of virtual reality in education is the opportunity for the learners to be put right within the environments they study. This feature does not only concern the practitioners such as doctors or machine operators but also scientists and theorists. For instance, the chemists may be placed in the world of enlarged molecules and interact with them, and the same can be done to the astronomers and the space objects. That way, the new knowledge would be received and practiced not from the perspective of observers but from first-hand experience (The Use of Virtual Reality in Education par. 2).

VR in Healthcare

In the field of healthcare, VR is applied in a variety of different ways with educational, training, and treatment goals. For example, virtual reality devices allow the therapists to place the patients suffering from PTSD into the scenarios that have caused the disorder and re-write the experiences (Carson par. 3). Apart from rehabilitation and therapy, some other spheres in which VR is rather useful are dentistry, visualization, and computer-assisted surgery (Solanki 2).

With the help of the VR, surgeons can envision various body parts and organs and interact with them rehearsing or designing surgeries. Also, they could be virtually placed within the organs and see how the tissue works and what could be done to help the patient and defeat the disease. Besides, due to the opportunities provided by virtual reality, the doctors can practice the situations that cannot be recreated using a cadaver. The training and practice may take place as many times are it is required without damaging the bodies of patients.

Moreover, virtual reality provides countless opportunities for people with disabilities and the individuals who are home-bound to experience various scenarios and improving their quality of life. An example of such an experience is virtual traveling.

Current Trends and Issues

As mentioned earlier, the modern applications of VR are multiple and for an average individual who does not interact with it professionally, VR can be experienced in amusement parks, gaming, museums, and galleries among other locations. For instance, one may go to a sports museum and be placed in a virtual reality of a football game, or visit a paleontology museum and see the virtual dinosaurs. Due to these fascinating experiences, VR is massively popular among the contemporary consumers. However, several problems with it may soon result in the public hesitation as to the use of this technology as entertainment.

The most powerful competitors in marketing VR are Google, Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Facebook. The modern VR devices are head-mounted; they detect the movements of the user and translate them to the reality built around. The modern technologies are mature enough to deliver high-resolution images with which the consumers can interact realistically. Also, the VR devices are becoming more and more affordable by the year.

The main issues involve the impracticality of the construction of the VR devices. The most well-known ones such as Vive, Oculus, and Morpheus Project are heavy and tend to limit the movements of the user (Wolverton par. 14). Besides, in some cases, the VR devices can cause physical reactions such as dizziness, anxiety, nausea, or a lengthy headache which I definitely a drawback. Moreover, they are difficult to market and promote because unlike all the other technologies (smartphones or tablets, for example), the VR devices need to be experienced by the buyer directly for them to become familiar with the technology and decide whether or not they should purchase it (Wolverton par. 22).

Also, none of the contemporary VR headsets is convenient for the long use due to such factors as the weight of the head-mounted piece and the proximity of the screen inside of it to the eyes of the user. As a result, its application in computer gaming is also limited.

Future of VR

When it comes to the future trends in VR, the experts tend to mention one common idea a users ability to create their own realities through fast programming. The currently discussed hypothetic programmable matter is referred to as Utility fog. It is comprised of a myriad of microscopic robots called froglets. The function of these robots is to link with one another and form various types of sceneries and shapes around the user wearing a VR device. That way, the 3D objects can be constructed within a short amount of time using this smart matter. The contemporary technologies are unable to realize this idea just yet.

For this type of technological breakthrough, the engineers and scientists need to find ways to put into practice what is called the molecular assembling capacity the ability of the microscopic robots to join together and form structures. The ultimate idea for the VR of the future is to be able to recreate the realities customized by the users and show one another whatever images come to their imagination.

Conclusion

To sum up, as a concept, virtual reality has a long future and can be traced back to the 1800s when the first panoramic paintings were created in order to create an illusion of the observer being a part of the picture. Since that time, the technologies pushing VR forward have been advancing year after year. As a result, today, the individual VR headsets are about to appear on the shelves next to iPhones and iPads. This technology is still rather new and underdeveloped. It has multiple disadvantages of practical and experiential nature (the weight of the devices, the screen definition and frequency, the negative emotions and unpleasant feelings they can cause). However, the public fascination with virtual reality is powerful. This is what pushes the progress forwards.