Can extended reality in the metaverse revolutionise health communication?
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Plechata A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9438352 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Can extended reality in the metaverse revolutionise health communication?
Plechatá Adéla A Makransky Guido G Böhm Robert R
NPJ digital medicine 20220902 1
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Project description:Extended reality is one of the leading cutting-edge technologies, which has not yet fully set foot into the field of ophthalmology. The use of extended reality technology especially in ophthalmic education and counseling will revolutionize the face of teaching and counseling on a whole new level. We have used this novel technology and have created a holographic museum of various anatomical structures such as the eyeball, cerebral venous system, cerebral arterial system, cranial nerves, and various parts of the brain in fine detail. These four-dimensional (4D) ophthalmic holograms created by us (patent pending) are cost-effectively constructed with TrueColor confocal images to serve as a new-age immersive 4D pedagogical and counseling tool for gameful learning and counseling, respectively. According to our knowledge, this concept has not been reported in the literature before.
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Project description:BackgroundMental health disorders are the leading cause of health-related problems worldwide. It is projected that mental health disorders will be the leading cause of morbidity among adults as the incidence rates of anxiety and depression grow worldwide. Recently, "extended reality" (XR), a general term covering virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), is paving the way for the delivery of mental health care.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the adoption and implementation of XR technology used in interventions for mental disorders and to provide statistical analyses of the design, usage, and effectiveness of XR technology for mental health interventions with a worldwide demographic focus.MethodsIn this paper, we conducted a scoping review of the development and application of XR in the area of mental disorders. We performed a database search to identify relevant studies indexed in Google Scholar, PubMed, and the ACM Digital Library. A search period between August 2016 and December 2023 was defined to select papers related to the usage of VR, AR, and MR in a mental health context. The database search was performed with predefined queries, and a total of 831 papers were identified. Ten papers were identified through professional recommendation. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were designed and applied to ensure that only relevant studies were included in the literature review.ResultsWe identified a total of 85 studies from 27 countries worldwide that used different types of VR, AR, and MR techniques for managing 14 types of mental disorders. By performing data analysis, we found that most of the studies focused on high-income countries, such as the United States (n=14, 16.47%) and Germany (n=12, 14.12%). None of the studies were for African countries. The majority of papers reported that XR techniques lead to a significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety or depression. The majority of studies were published in 2021 (n=26, 30.59%). This could indicate that mental disorder intervention received higher attention when COVID-19 emerged. Most studies (n=65, 76.47%) focused on a population in the age range of 18-65 years, while few studies (n=2, 3.35%) focused on teenagers (ie, subjects in the age range of 10-19 years). In addition, more studies were conducted experimentally (n=67, 78.82%) rather than by using analytical and modeling approaches (n=8, 9.41%). This shows that there is a rapid development of XR technology for mental health care. Furthermore, these studies showed that XR technology can effectively be used for evaluating mental disorders in a similar or better way that conventional approaches.ConclusionsIn this scoping review, we studied the adoption and implementation of XR technology for mental disorder care. Our review shows that XR treatment yields high patient satisfaction, and follow-up assessments show significant improvement with large effect sizes. Moreover, the studies adopted unique designs that were set up to record and analyze the symptoms reported by their participants. This review may aid future research and development of various XR mechanisms for differentiated mental disorder procedures.
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Project description:The metaverse, an immersive virtual environment enabling users to engage with digital experiences, has the potential to revolutionize education. However, research pertaining to this area is still in its early stages. This study investigates the variables that influence the acceptance of educational metaverses and the intention to use them. It also presents an expanded model called the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Metaverse Technology (UTAUMT) to provide guidance to educators and decision-makers. The study involved 253 Vietnamese teachers and students who had experience with metaverse, selected through purposive sampling. The UTAUMT provides a comprehensive framework that encompasses various factors, including metaverse performance expectancy (MPE), metaverse effort expectancy (MEE), metaverse social influence (MSI), metaverse hedonic motivation (MHM), metaverse price value (MPC), metaverse self-efficacy (MSE), and metaverse facilitating conditions (MFC). These factors were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The findings indicate that MEE, MSI, MFC, MSE, and MBI have a considerable impact on the educational metaverse MUB. The extended UTAUMT model makes a theoretical contribution by including metaverse-specific elements into the technology acceptance framework. The managerial implications focus on the integration of the metaverse, training of users, and providing support to enhance the adoption rate. This study explores the elements that contribute to the adoption of metaverse technology in education and contributes to the existing literature on the acceptance of metaverse technology.
| S-EPMC11481655 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC8810683 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Extended reality (XR) refers to an umbrella of methods that allows users to be immersed in a three-dimensional (3D) or a 4D (spatial + temporal) virtual environment to different extents, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). While VR allows a user to be fully immersed in a virtual environment, AR and MR overlay virtual objects over the real physical world. The immersion and interaction of XR provide unparalleled opportunities to extend our world beyond conventional lifestyles. While XR has extensive applications in fields such as entertainment and education, its numerous applications in biomedicine create transformative opportunities in both fundamental research and healthcare. This Primer outlines XR technology from instrumentation to software computation methods, delineating the biomedical applications that have been advanced by state-of-the-art techniques. We further describe the technical advances overcoming current limitations in XR and its applications, providing an entry point for professionals and trainees to thrive in this emerging field.
| S-EPMC10088349 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeThe purpose of this study was to develop and validate RetinaVR, an affordable, portable, and fully immersive virtual reality (VR) simulator for vitreoretinal surgery training.MethodsWe built RetinaVR as a standalone app on the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. It simulates core vitrectomy, peripheral shaving, membrane peeling, and endolaser application. In a validation study (n = 20 novices and experts), we measured: efficiency, safety, and module-specific performance. We first explored unadjusted performance differences through an effect size analysis. Then, a linear mixed-effects model was used to isolate the impact of age, sex, expertise, and experimental run on performance.ResultsExperts were significantly safer in membrane peeling but not when controlling for other factors. Experts were significantly better in core vitrectomy, even when controlling for other factors (P = 0.014). Heatmap analysis of endolaser applications showed more consistent retinopexy among experts. Age had no impact on performance, but male subjects were faster in peripheral shaving (P = 0.036) and membrane peeling (P = 0.004). A learning curve was demonstrated with improving efficiency at each experimental run for all modules. Repetition also led to improved safety during membrane peeling (P = 0.003), and better task-specific performance during core vitrectomy (P = 0.038), peripheral shaving (P = 0.011), and endolaser application (P = 0.043). User experience was favorable to excellent in all spheres.ConclusionsRetinaVR demonstrates potential as an affordable, portable training tool for vitreoretinal surgery. Its construct validity is established, showing varying performance in a way that correlates with experimental runs, age, sex, and level of expertise.Translational relevanceFully immersive VR technology could revolutionize surgical training, making it more accessible, especially in developing nations.
| S-EPMC10996990 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Study objectivesThis scoping review explores the use of extended reality (virtual, augmented, and mixed reality) within sleep health, sleep medicine, and sleep research. It aims to provide insight into current uses and implementation considerations whilst highlighting directions for future research.MethodsA systematic scoping review was undertaken informed by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses for scoping reviews and Johanna Briggs Institute.ResultsThe use of virtual reality (VR) as a research tool in the investigation of areas such as dreaming and memory reactivation is growing. Thirty-one articles were identified in total with 20 utilizing VR to improve sleep as a clinical intervention.ConclusionsResearch exploring the utility of VR as a clinical intervention in various patient populations and clinical settings is therefore warranted. Researchers and clinicians should ensure that extended reality interventions are developed based on clinical reasoning and informed by evidence of both sleep medicine and the effects of virtual and augmented reality. Where possible future research should utilize up-to-date technology and reporting frameworks to assist in the translation of research into clinical practice.
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Project description:Structural and contextual factors such as limited work and housing opportunities negatively affect the health and well-being of newly settled refugee migrants in receiving high-income countries. Health promotion initiatives aiming at strengthening health and integration have been tried out within the Swedish Introduction program for refugee migrants. However, longitudinal evaluations of these interventions are rare. The aim of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of a regular and an extended civic orientation course with added health communication and examine whether the latter would improve self-rated health and psychological well-being, health literacy and social capital among newly settled refugee migrants in Sweden. Pre- and post-assessment questionnaires were collected from the intervention group receiving the extended course (n = 143) and a control group receiving the regular course (n = 173). Linear mixed models and chi-square analyses showed a significant increase with a small effect size (0.21) in health literacy in the intervention group. However, there were no significant changes in emotional and practical support, general self-rated health or psychological well-being. The findings indicate that added health communication provided embedded in the civic orientation course can increase health literacy. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the sustainability of the observed effect and examine whether these short-term improvements in health literacy translate to long-term advances in health and integration.
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Project description:Existing haptic actuators are often rigid and limited in their ability to replicate real-world tactile sensations. We present a wearable haptic artificial muscle skin (HAMS) based on fully soft, millimeter-scale, multilayer dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) capable of significant out-of-plane deformation, a capability that typically requires rigid or liquid biasing. The DEAs use a thickness-varying multilayer structure to achieve large out-of-plane displacement and force, maintaining comfort and wearability. Experimental results demonstrate that HAMS can produce complex tactile feedback with high perception accuracy. Moreover, we show that HAMS can be integrated into extended reality (XR) systems, enhancing immersion and offering potential applications in entertainment, education, and assistive technologies.
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Project description:The 3D display device shows an image with depth information. Conventional 3D display devices based on binocular parallax can focus accurately only on the depth of a specific screen. Because the human eye has a narrow depth of field (DOF) under normal circumstances, 3D displays that provide a relatively wide range of virtual depth areas have limitations on the DOF where clear 3D images are seen. To resolve this problem, it is necessary to find the optical conditions to extend the DOF and analyze the phenomena related to it. For this, by using the Rayleigh criterion and the Strehl ratio, a criterion for this extension of the DOF is suggested. A practical optical structure that can effectively extend the DOF is devised using a flat panel display. This optical structure could be applied to AR, VR, and MR in the field of near-eye displays. From the results of this research, the fundamental optical conditions and standards are proposed for 3D displays that will provide 3D images with extended DOF in the future. Furthermore, it is also expected that these conditions and criteria can be applied to optical designs for the required performance in the development of 3D displays in various fields.
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