Virtual Reality in Telemedicine

Virtual Reality (VR) can be considered as the leading edge of a general evolution of present communication interfaces involving the television, computer and telephone. Main characteristic of this evolution is the full immersion of the human sensorimotor channels into a vivid and global communication experience. Since telemedicine is principally focusing on transmitting medical information, VR has the potential to enhance this function. Particularly VR can be used in telemedicine as an advanced communication interface, which enables a more intuitive mode of interacting with information, and as a flexible environment that enhances the feeling of physical presence during the interaction. In this chapter, the state of the art in VR-based telemedicine applications is described. This technology is now used in remote or augmented surgery, and surgical training, which are critically dependent upon eye-hand coordination. Recently, however, different researchers have tried to use virtual environments (VEs) in medical visualization and for the assessment and rehabilitation in neuro-psychology. The chapter also discusses technological, ergonomical and human factor issues and specific guidelines are presented for expanding the use of VR in telemedicine.