VR (virtual reality) is a technology based on computers that creates three-dimensional (3D) environments that let users explore virtual worlds and interact with them via various devices. Virtual reality can be experienced on mobile devices or in virtual reality rooms with head-mounted displays, or in VR goggles. VR lets users interact with 3D models of bodies and environments in a first-person manner. These models are known as avatars.
In 1968, Ivan Sutherland created a viable head-mounted display at Harvard University (figure 1-17). The system consisted of miniature cathode ray tubes that offered stereoscopic images for each eye, and mechanical and ultrasonic tracking to enable user movement within a virtual space. The VR technology platform was created due to advances in computer graphics and computer processing. Oxford Medical Systems, the precursor to Vicon Motion Systems, develops the first commercial motion capture (MoCap) system in 1984. Silicon Graphics, Inc. creates the VLSI Graphics Engine which provides an extremely fast workstation that has been used by many VR facilities for years.
VR has been found to improve knowledge and skills in health professions education compared with less interactive digital learning interventions however it isn’t clear whether these effects translate into patient-related outcomes. VR has also been proven to reduce stress among health professionals and patients. Nijland et al. found that ICU nurses who utilized VR relaxation during their breaks reported significantly less stress than nurses who did not utilize VR. However it is important to understand that the duration of the VR application can cause hyperstimulation or cybersickness among some patients.