Review
Oncology
Dania Comparcini, Valentina Simonetti, Francesco Galli, Ilaria Saltarella, Concetta Altamura, Marco Tomietto, Jean-Francois Desaphy, Giancarlo Cicolini
Summary: Pediatric patients with cancer often undergo invasive procedures and treatments that cause pain and anxiety. This systematic review aims to summarize the findings of published studies on the effectiveness of virtual reality in managing pain and anxiety in children and adolescents with cancer.
Review
Neurosciences
Javier Guerra-Armas, Mar Flores-Cortes, Consolacion Pineda-Galan, Alejandro Luque-Suarez, Roy La Touche
Summary: Chronic pain affects a significant portion of the world's population and immersive virtual reality has been suggested as a potential therapy. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding the mechanisms behind VR's impact on pain and its clinical effectiveness.
Review
Orthopedics
A. Combalia, M. V. Sanchez-Vives, T. Donegan
Summary: This narrative review explores the applications and benefits of immersive virtual reality (VR) in orthopaedics, with a focus on surgical training, patient functional recovery, and pain management. It examines existing literature and research studies on immersive VR in orthopaedics, analyzing both experimental and clinical studies. The review finds that immersive VR can enhance surgical skills, facilitate motor learning and functional recovery, improve patient adherence and outcomes, and revolutionize pain management.
INTERNATIONAL ORTHOPAEDICS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Georgiana Cristina Dobre, Marco Gillies, Xueni Pan
Summary: This study developed an immersive machine learning pipeline for detecting social engagement and demonstrated how creatives could use machine learning and virtual reality to design more engaging experiences.
Article
Ecology
Tom Chandler, Anna E. Richards, Bernhard Jenny, Fiona Dickson, Jiawei Huang, Alexander Klippel, Michael Neylan, Florence Wang, Suzanne M. Prober
Summary: The use of virtual reality to model endangered ecosystems, such as the Australian Box Gum Grassy Woodland, has shown potential for effectively communicating ecosystem dynamics. The immersive virtual landscapes were well received by ecologists and managers, demonstrating their potential for education, public engagement, and land management. Potential future directions include developing open-source ecological 3D models and simulating historic landscapes and future climate change scenarios.
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
David Mal, Erik Wolf, Nina Dollinger, Carolin Wienrich, Marc Erich Latoschik
Summary: This study extends the existing knowledge about the significance of the Proteus effect in serious virtual reality applications by considering the relationship between self-embodiment and the virtual environment. The results showed that the congruence between the avatar and environment significantly affected the avatar's plausibility, but not the sense of embodiment or spatial presence. The Proteus effect only emerged in participants who had a strong sense of virtual body ownership, highlighting its importance in facilitating the effect.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
David Mal, Erik Wolf, Nina Dollinger, Carolin Wienrich, Marc Erich Latoschik
Summary: This study extends the understanding of the Proteus effect for serious virtual reality applications by considering the congruence between self-embodiment and the virtual environment. Avatar and environment congruence significantly affected the avatar's plausibility, but not the sense of embodiment or spatial presence. However, the Proteus effect only emerged for participants with a high feeling of virtual body ownership, suggesting that a strong sense of having and owning a virtual body is key to facilitating the Proteus effect.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Chiu-Shui Chan, Jelena Bogdanovic, Vijay Kalivarapu
Summary: Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technology can be utilized as a teaching tool, as demonstrated in this paper on teaching architectural history. The research explores the effectiveness of IVR in education and presents tangible student learning outcomes.
EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Mar Flores-Cortes, Javier Guerra-Armas, Consolacion Pineda-Galan, Roy La Touche, Alejandro Luque-Suarez
Summary: This article discusses the role of immersive virtual reality in decision making in people with pain, specifically focusing on sensorimotor uncertainty. The study found that VR has the potential to alter sensorimotor uncertainty, but further research of higher methodological quality is needed to explore this topic.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Sergo Martirosov, Marek Bures, Tomas Zitka
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between different levels of VR immersion and cyber sickness, finding that the fully immersive environment caused the most significant issues for participants but did not impact their fine dexterity.
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Elif Gizem Carus, Nazli Albayrak, Halit Mert Bildirici, Selen Gur Ozmen
Summary: This study evaluated the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality (VR) in improving patient satisfaction and relieving pain during labor. The results showed that the use of immersive VR during labor was associated with higher patient satisfaction and improved pain scores.
BMC PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Or Yizhar, Jonathan Giron, Mohr Wenger, Debbie Chetrit, Gilad Ostrin, Doron Friedman, Amir Amedi
Summary: Through virtual reality technology, we successfully challenged past assumptions on body ownership and found that goal-directed and purposeful actions can override anatomical plausibility constraints, leading to a sense of body ownership over virtual hands.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sayali Joshi, Yu Wang, Eric Sparks, Mohammad Marufuzzaman, Mandy Sartain, Junfeng Ma
Summary: Improving awareness of marine debris can lead to significant benefits, but current approaches often lack engagement. A more interactive and innovative educational method is needed. This study uses VR to assess its efficacy and effectiveness compared to traditional video-based education, and the results show that VR-based education has the potential for large-scale prevention and management of marine debris.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Adriana Salatino, Claudio Zavattaro, Roberto Gammeri, Emanuele Cirillo, Maria Luisa Piatti, Maria Pyasik, Hilary Serra, Lorenzo Pia, Giuliano Geminiani, Raffaella Ricci
Summary: In recent decades, new virtual reality (VR)-based protocols have been proposed for the rehabilitation of Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN). However, the optimal type of VR protocol and level of immersion remain unclear. In this systematic review, 26 studies were identified and improvements were found in 84.6% of the reviewed studies. Further randomized control trials are needed to validate the clinical efficacy of VR protocols for USN rehabilitation.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Abigail J. Rolbiecki, Ameish Govindarajan, Brett Froeliger
Summary: Millions of people in the USA are diagnosed with cancer each year and receive systemic therapies to prolong their life. However, these therapies often worsen symptoms such as pain and anxiety. Complementary and alternative medicines like virtual reality and neurofeedback are emerging as potential treatments to improve quality of life for cancer patients. This paper discusses the clinical need for supportive therapies and summarizes recent research on using virtual reality and neurofeedback to manage cancer symptoms.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Mel Slater, Maria V. Sanchez-Vives
Summary: The prevailing scientific paradigm posits matter as primary, while an alternative view sees consciousness as a fundamental force in nature. Virtual reality can provide insights into the primacy of consciousness, although its implications for physical reality and the emergence of consciousness from brain function remain uncertain.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Katrin Amunts, Javier DeFelipe, Cyriel Pennartz, Alain Destexhe, Michele Migliore, Philippe Ryvlin, Steve Furber, Alois Knoll, Lise Bitsch, Jan G. Bjaalie, Yannis Ioannidis, Thomas Lippert, Maria V. Sanchez-Vives, Rainer Goebel, Viktor Jirsa
Summary: Understanding the human brain is a Grand Challenge for 21st century research. Computational approaches and dynamic generative multiscale models are instrumental for linking brain structure and function. The intersection of neuroscience, computing, and robotics has the potential to advance neuro-inspired technologies. To facilitate research sharing and collaboration, the Human Brain Project has launched the digital neuroscience research infrastructure EBRAINS.
Article
Criminology & Penology
Sofia Seinfeld, Ruud Hortensius, Jorge Arroyo-Palacios, Guillermo Iruretagoyena, Luis E. Zapata, Beatrice de Gelder, Mel Slater, Maria V. Sanchez-Vives
Summary: Domestic violence has long-term negative consequences on children. In this study, men with a history of partner aggression and a control group were placed in virtual reality as a child's perspective to witness a scene of domestic violence. The study found that the experience mainly affected the recognition of angry facial expressions and physiological responses during explicit violent events. This research demonstrates the potential of virtual reality in the rehabilitation and neuropsychological assessment of males with a history of domestic violence.
JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Mel Slater, Carlos Cabriera, Gizem Senel, Domna Banakou, Alejandro Beacco, Ramon Oliva, Jaime Gallego
Summary: This study created a virtual reality version of a 1983 performance by Dire Straits and carried out two studies to understand participants' responses. The findings revealed that the presence and behavior of the virtual audience elicited negative sentiment, which dominated the overall sentiment over the virtual band. These results underscore the importance of achieving plausibility in virtual reality and highlight the significance of co-design and sentiment analysis in VR scenarios.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Sylvie Belleville, M. Cuesta, M. Bieler-Aeschlimann, K. Giacomino, A. Widmer, A. G. Mittaz Hager, D. Perez-Marcos, S. Cardin, B. Boller, N. Bier, M. Aubertin-Leheudre, L. Bherer, N. Berryman, S. Agrigoroaei, J. F. Demonet
Summary: Multidomain interventions have shown great potential for improving cognition in older adults. A study has found that a computerized program providing a multidomain intervention at home can improve cognition in older adults, with greater benefits observed in individuals at higher risk of cognitive decline.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joan Llobera, Valentin Jacquat, Carmela Calabrese, Caecilia Charbonnier
Summary: This study investigated the extent to which an autonomous virtual character and a human can synchronise their behavior in the mirror game in virtual reality. The results suggest that participants were unable to distinguish between a condition with small coupling and engagement with an avatar driven by another human player.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Daniel Perez-Marcos, Roberta Ronchi, Arthur Giroux, Fanny Brenet, Andrea Serino, Tej Tadi, Olaf Blanke
Summary: This paper presents two tasks in immersive virtual reality to assess unilateral spatial neglect (USN) and proposes new objective scores based on participant's performance. It validates the feasibility of these assessments and suggests that they can help distinguish neurological patients with and without USN.
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
Ramon Oliva, Alejandro Beacco, Jaime Gallego, Raul Gallego Abellan, Mel Slater, Mike Potel
Summary: VR United is a virtual reality application that allows multiple people to interact simultaneously in the same environment. This article demonstrates the successful use of VR United in a remote interview, highlighting its potential for immersive journalism and discussing future developments in this field.
IEEE COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Biology
Joan Llobera, Caecilia Charbonnier
Summary: "Motor neuroscience and physics-based character animation (PBCA) investigate human and humanoid control from different perspectives. PBCA aims to control ragdoll movement by applying forces and torques in a physical simulation. Motor neuroscience seeks to understand the contribution of different parts of the nervous system in generating coordinated movements. This study reviews the principles and anatomy of motor control and discusses common research points and ongoing debates in motor neuroscience from the perspective of PBCA. The study also suggests the potential benefits of closer collaboration between these two fields in studying sensorimotor integration and human-character coordination."
PHYSICS OF LIFE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gizem Senel, Francisco Macia-Varela, Jaime Gallego, Hatice Pehlivan Jensen, Kasper Hornbaek, Mel Slater
Summary: Change blindness refers to the phenomenon where people fail to notice dramatic changes in their visual environment. In virtual reality, there are differences in the perception of changes in one's own virtual body compared to the body of another person. A study conducted in virtual reality showed that a majority of participants did not notice changes in their own face or the face of the virtual instructor. This suggests that people tend to make inferences about their visual surroundings without paying attention to details, and changes in one's own body may impact self-representation.
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Joan Llobera, Caecilia Charbonnier
Summary: Virtual Reality (VR) users prefer to interact with characters using gestures, social cues, and their whole body, but creating VR characters that appropriately respond to these cues remains challenging. Recent advancements in physics-based character animation suggest that these techniques may provide a way forward. We have developed an open source project called Marathon that allows the use of physics-based interactive characters in VR, along with support materials.
2022 IEEE CONFERENCE ON VIRTUAL REALITY AND 3D USER INTERFACES ABSTRACTS AND WORKSHOPS (VRW 2022)
(2022)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Albert Jimenez, Lluis Gomez, Joan Llobera
Summary: We propose a computer vision model that automatically creates a video of a live concert by combining multiple recordings of the audience. The model solves the editing problem by synchronizing recordings, selecting scene cuts, and predicting the next shot using an attention-based model. The shot prediction model is trained using professionally-edited concert videos and evaluated with accuracy metrics and human judgement. The results show that the system selects the same video source as the ground truth in 38.8% of cases, and non-experts showed chance-level preference between the selected image and ground truth. However, image editing experts performed better than chance in predicting the next shot.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 17TH INTERNATIONAL JOINT CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER VISION, IMAGING AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS THEORY AND APPLICATIONS (VISAPP), VOL 4
(2022)
Article
Primary Health Care
Maria J. Serrano-Ripoll, Maria A. Fiol-deRoque, Jose M. Valderas, Rocio Zamanillo-Campos, Joan Llobera, Antonio Olry de Labry Lima, Guadalupe Pastor-Moreno, Ignacio Ricci-Cabello
Summary: This study aimed to examine the feasibility of intervention delivery and trial procedures. The results showed that the proposed intervention is feasible, but there are limitations in its acceptability and utility.
