Medical

This CBS News article looks at a VR technology which could improve how health workers assess people suffering from brain injuries and brain diseases. From the article: "The KINARM combines a chair with robotic arms and a virtual-reality system that allows researchers to guide patients through tasks, such as hitting balls with virtual paddles.

Once the tests are done, the system gives a detailed report on how the patient differed from normal.

The system has several advantages over traditional testing methods, such as touching one's finger or nose, said Prof. Stephen Scott of the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

"No. 1 is that it is objective," Scott said Monday from San Diego, where he is the presenting the research at the Society for Neuroscience Conference.

This 3D Perspectives article looks at the use of immersive virtual reality for visually impaired people. From the article: "Last week, I attended an event at Telecom ParisTech, one of our top school of engineers. The event gathered about thirty experts in medicine and engineering for a set of conferences and debates dealing with Smart and Communicating Devices for Health and Handicap.

Smart Devices can help in several health domains, from remote diagnosis to re-education. Being able to perform remote medecine can be useful in secluded spots such as high-mountain while re-education can take benefit from serious gaming applications.

This Vancouver Sun article looks at the use of virtual reality as a treatment for hoarding. From the article: "Psychologist Kieron O'Connor has compiled a list 30 pages long of different objects he has seen hoarders accumulate. The list includes newspapers, empty cornflake packages and toilet paper rolls.

"It's a very difficult problem to treat," he says. "People collect things and they can't get rid of them. They build up at home and often take over so the person has no living space."

O'Connor, with two colleagues, is studying whether virtual reality could be a possible treatment for hoarding. It is believed to be the first study of its kind in Canada. It takes place at the University of Quebec Outaouais (UQO) in Gatineau. The university is one of the few in North America doing research in cyberpsychology.

This NewScientist Tech article looks at a new branch of psychotherapy - avatar therapy- in which therapists interact with their clients avatar to avatar. From the article: "Psychotherapy in a virtual world has its advantages – particularly if the real world is what you can't cope with

BY MY fourth interview, I'd developed a checklist to use before each meeting. For starters, I would make sure I had grown some hair. I'd also check that I was fully clothed - I had learned the hard way about that one. Only then would I teleport to the interview, hoping that this time my avatar wouldn't materialise in anyone's lap.

This CTV article reports Montreal Neurological Institute opened a new neurosurgical simulation centre which experts say will revolutionize the way surgeons are trained. From the article: "The virtual reality centre features technology developed by the National Research Council and surgeons at the MNI, allowing people to both see and feel during a surgical simulation.

They expect the technological advancement will mean better patient care and surgical outcomes.

"We'll try to prove whether simulating the operation will make a better operation happen," said Dr. Rolando del Maestro, the director of the MNI's Brain Tumour Research Centre.

Neurological resident Nicholas Gelinas Phaneuf described the technology as incredible.

This ScienceDaily article reports food presented in a virtual reality environment causes the same emotional responses as real food. From the article: "Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Annals of General Psychiatry compared the responses of people with anorexia and bulimia, and a control group, to the virtual and real-life snacks, suggesting that virtual food can be used for the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders.

This ScienceDaily article talks about a new "virtual" method to analyze movement patterns in children. From the article: "It was her love of ballet that led her to work with children who have motor disabilities. The retired dancer, now an occupational therapist, is pioneering a new "virtual" method to analyze movement patterns in children ? and more effectively treat those with debilitating motor disorders.

Take a look at this this Science Daily article: "Engineers at Rutgers University have modified a popular home video game system to help teenagers with cerebral palsy improve hand functions. In a pilot trial with three participants, the system improved the teens' abilities to perform a range of daily personal and household activities.

The modified system combined a Sony PlayStation 3 console and a commercial gaming glove with custom-developed software and games to provide exercise routines aimed at improving hand speed and range of finger motion.

From the Washington Post website: "Diane McFarland injected oranges with shots during nursing school until she felt confident enough to prick human subjects. Then she and her classmates took turns on each other.

Nurses at Inova Loudoun Hospital can now practice on SimMan 3G, a life-size patient simulator in a virtual reality lab that opened Monday on the first floor of the Leesburg facility.

From this Science Daily article: "Telemedicine facilitates communication between family physicians, hospitals and nursing services -- yet current solutions lack flexibility and are consequently very expensive. A new software program is now available that can be tailored to a range of applications.