Recently, through a class “The Internet and the Future of Patient Care” I am taking online at UC Davis on Informatics, I was introduced to the virtual reality site Second Life (http://www.SecondLife.com) The site was developed by a company called Linden Labs and has been up and running on the Internet since 2003. To interact on the site users must set up an account, which is free and become a “Resident.” Users must also download some client software necessary to interact inside the site, known as the “grid.” As part of the setup, users must chose an Avitar (an Avitar is computer image used to represent the user in the action on the screen) to represent themselves. Residents can explore, walk, run, fly, or transport themselves to the places in Second Life. Along the way Avitars meet other residents Avitars, socialize, and participate in activates as an individual and or also engage in group activities, and even buy, create and trade virtual property.
Part of the user interface includes menu and keystroke accessed software tools for building geometric objects that can be endowed with a myriad of attributes. There is also a scripting language that can be used to manipulate various aspects of the environment.
One of the most interesting aspects of this site is that it can be regarded, treated and used as a game for entertainment or simple amusement, but it can and is also being used as an amazing and powerful “tool” for accomplishing a wide array of real life tasks, with physical reality value.
The purpose of using the site for my UC Davis Informatics class is to demonstrate and teach about how the site is being used to provide diagnostic, treatment and informational services for people, in fact patients, needing various health care services in an alternative way. While a virtual reality experience cannot replace face to face clinical care for treating patients who require physical intervention to address their injury or disease, and obviously medication cannot be dispensed virtually, the virtual clinic or virtual health care provider can perform many valuable functions. Presently, Doctor, Physician’s Assistant, Nurse Practitioners, etc Avitars can interactively, in real time interact with patients. They can answer questions, provide detailed basic information and direct patients to information sites on the Internet - an amazing feature in Second Life is the ability for Avitars to interact real time with the real World Wide Web, through virtual browsers, in real time.
So, while this virtual clinical environment can be used to great advantage presently, in the near future through additional, yet to be developed interfaces, the capabilities of the virtual environments will be extended even further. Through real data interfaces to telemedical instruments Avitars will be able to take actual vital readings from a real patient being represented virtually in the online environment. This is another approach to telemedicine that will facilitate an added dimension of patient interaction and care delivery that has some advantages over the present conventional view of telemedicine. For instance, the patient may be more willing to disclose intimate information about a condition such as STD’s that the patient might be less inclined to disclose in a face to face encounter with a health care provider.
Further, implementation of future features for things like, medical training; mental health treatment, disease diagnosis, public health issue management and etc are as boundless as our imaginations. There is real value being derived already through these virtual worlds, but the possibilities for the future are truly exciting. If you haven’t experienced a virtual world before now, all I can say is you are missing out on an amazing experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment