Metaverse Health<title /> http://www.metaversehealth.com Clinical simulation and health in a virtual world Wed, 16 May 2012 05:19:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 MetaverseHealthhttp://feedburner.google.com Nice coverage of virtual worlds and nursing simulation http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/05/nice-coverage-of-virtual-worlds-and-nursing-simulation/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/05/nice-coverage-of-virtual-worlds-and-nursing-simulation/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 05:19:47 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=726 For those less familiar with what’s going on in the virtual worlds and clinical simulation field, here’s a nice overview from an Australian viewpoint, published in the Sydney Morning Herald today:

http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/health-in-the-third-dimension-20120516-1ypwf.html

It’s great to see VastPark involved in the area, providing another option in a still fairly sparse marketplace. I’m seriously looking at Unity3D / Jibe as the basis for my research but I’ll also be taking a damn close look at Nursim as well.

As always, if you’re working in this area please let me know as I’d love to profile you.

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/05/nice-coverage-of-virtual-worlds-and-nursing-simulation/feed/ 0 Mental Health Symposium: Second Life http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/04/mental-health-symposium-second-life/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/04/mental-health-symposium-second-life/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:53:36 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=722 I received a message today from Alice Krueger (SL:Gentle Heron) at Virtual Ability Inc, about an upcoming symposium. Save April 28 as the date – there’s an amazing array of speakers and topics. You can read the schedule below or check out Virtual Ability’s blog.

The full details:

Our society too often takes mental health for granted and too frequently stigmatizes people with mental health issues. The Virtual Ability Mental Health Symposium 2012, on Saturday, April 28, offers a variety of perspectives for thinking positively about mental health.

Presentations will take place at various locations in Second Life.  The full schedule is posted below, and at www.virtualability.org/symposium2012.

Alice Krueger, president of Virtual Ability, Inc., notes, “A symposium is a formal meeting where individual presentations are followed by discussion. We intend these sessions to encourage audience participation with the presenters and especially with the content the presenters share. Mental health is too important a topic to ignore.”

SCHEDULE, PRESENTERS AND TOPICS

 

COGNITIVE REHABILITATION

PRESENTER: Dr. Tina Garcia

Saturday April 28, 2012, 8:00 am PDT

 

“VODKA AND SALIVA” FROM PAUL BROKS’INTO THE SILENT LAND

READER: Alice Krueger (Second Life Avatar: Gentle Heron)

Saturday April 28, 2012, 9:00 am PDT

Health & Wellness Pavilion, Healthinfo Island, Second Life

Gentle Heron will read aloud (with text) a chapter from Paul Broks’ book Into the Silent Land. This essay explores the nature of self-understanding. We will discuss the viewpoints presented, and think about how we view ourselves as individuals unique among all of humanity.

Author Information: Broks is a consultant in neuropsychology at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK. He was a runner-up for the Wellcome Trust Science Prize, and writes about his work as a neuropsychologist in magazines and newspapers as well as this book of essays.

Presented simultaneously in voice and text.

 

PATHWAYS TO MENTAL HEALTH

PRESENTER: Frank Hannah (Second Life Avatar: Frederick Hansome)

Saturday April 28, 2012, 10:00 am PDT

Blue Orchid Cabana, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

This lecture introduces a concept of mental health that will probably be new to you. You will be able to use it to develop a rock-solid self concept, learn to make wise choices, accomplish more and improve your relationships.  This approach to optimum mental health helps prevent the mental and physical problems that may otherwise occur. Handicaps don’t count here: everyone can develop optimum mental health!

Presenter Bio:  Frank Hannah (SL avatar: Frederick Hansome) is a retired mental health counselor with over 20 years clinical experience in private practice. He holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Nova University (now NovaSoutheastern).

In SL, as the alt “Plato Greybeard”, Hannah moderated a philosophical discussion group for about 2 1/2 years at Plato’s Academy. He closed the Academy to use his SL time to promote mental health. Please visit his website: www.PathwaysToMentalHealth.com.

Presented simultaneously in voice and text.

 

WHY VIRTUAL COUNSELING SHOULD BE VIEWED AS ADVANCED TELEMEDICINE

(Keynote Presentation)

PRESENTER:  Dick Dillon (Second Life Avatar: Coughran Mayo)

Saturday April 28, 2012, 11:00 am PDT

The Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

We will discuss a variety of ways in which the characteristics of virtual world platforms, when used in the service of counseling, are not only as good as “real life,” but usually better.

Among the issues to be reviewed are “24/7 durability,” role plays and scene changes, and “I am my Avatar and my Avatar is me – or NOT”

Presenter Bio:  Dick Dillon has been in the mental health field for over 30 years in a variety of management and administrative positions. He recently left his position as Senior VP of Planning and Development for Preferred Family Healthcare to open his own consultation firm, Innovaision, LLC – dedicated to helping nonprofits realize the potential of using virtual worlds and other technologies.  Through his SL avatar, Coughran Mayo, Dillon has spent over 5 years actively involved in Second Life, working for the NonProfit Commons initiative and building and hosting the Preferred Family HC sim. He has made numerous presentations and been interviewed on Metanomics,  Rockcliffe University’s “Inside The Avatar Studio” program and other inworld news and issues programs.

Presented in voice, with text transcription.

 

COUNSELOR EDUCATION IN SECOND LIFE

PRESENTERS: Dr. Debra London and Dr. Marty Jencius

Saturday April 28, 2012, Noon PDT

 

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF PTSD

PRESENTER:  Anya Ibor

Saturday April 28, 2012, 1:00 pm PDT

The Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

The brain is an amazing organ. Injuries such as those which are associated with PTSD may never heal. But the brain is “plastic,” which means the functions damaged by the brain injury can be relearned by other parts of the brain.

Presenter Bio:  Anya Ibor is the Founder and Executive Director of Fearless Nation PTSD Support, a 501c3 NonProfit Organization dedicated to providing free public education, support and advocacy for the understanding of PTSD. Since 2009 Fearless Nation has provided a virtual therapeutic support group.

Presented in voice, with text transcription.

 

MENTAL HEALTH AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER SUPPORT

PRESENTER:  MermaidSue Bailey

Saturday April 28, 2012, 3:00 pm PDT

Yellow Hibiscus Cabana, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

MermaidSue Bailey will lead a discussion on the importance of peer support to good mental health.

Presenter Bio:  MermaidSue Bailey is facilitator of the self-help group “When Life Goes Out of Control,” which is in its second year now and becoming a useful weekly fixture for its increasing group of members, all of whom either have a disability themselves or a family disability which impacts on daily life.  In RL, Sue works as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in the United Kingdom, in private practice and within the hospice movement. She has two teenage daughters and is a school governor.   In theory she doesn’t bring her professional life into Second Life, but experience in group therapy, as well as being a woman with a disability, gives her useful skills in facilitating more informal groups in virtual settings – but very much as a member of the group also in need of support from other people with disabilities.

Presented in text, with voice transcription.

 

MENTAL HEALTH ISN’T ALL MENTAL

PRESENTER: Roberto Salvatierra (Second Life Avatar: Roberto Salubrius)

Saturday April 28, 2012, 4:00 pm PDT

The Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

Roberto was diagnosed with agoraphobia. He was unable to continue medical school, and became confined to his home. He will tell about his experiences, and what he learned about his health.

Presenter Bio:  Roberto Salvatierra, (SL avatar Roberto Salubrius), was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, in 1975. He had a bilingual education, and since an early age he worked with computers. At age 19, he started having panic attacks, until it evolved to agoraphobia by the time he was 24. He went to Medical School, where he got a minor on medical sciences and was going for his degree as Medical Doctor until his agoraphobia caught up with him, short of finishing Medical School. Since then he has been working on Second Life as a full time programmer for his own company, Techno Kitty Development, and for co-owned animation company Medhue Animations. In his free time he does a lot of medical research, especially on Mental Health, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Dysautonomias.

Presented in text, with voice transcription.

 

MENTAL HEALTH AND MINORITY COMMUNITIES

PRESENTER:  DyVerse Jeffery-Steele

Saturday April 28, 2012, 5:00 pm PDT

Yellow Hibiscus Cabana, Virtual Ability Island, Second Life

April is (US) National Minority Health Month. Minority communities face unique problems related to mental health.

Living in poverty has the most measurable effects on the rates of mental illness. Minorities are overrepresented among the lowest socioeconomic groups, and thus have higher rates of mental illness than do non-Hispanic whites. Racism and discrimination cause increased levels of stress, which can adversely affect mental health.

Presenter Bio:  DyVerse Jeffery-Steele is a peer support leader for chronic illness and the issues that arise from illness.  He has been a peer support leader in Second Life and in real life for HIV/AIDS and diabetes, and the mental health issues that come with those diseases.  A strong supporter and user of social media and virtual worlds for health support and education, DyVerse has an office on Health Commons island.

Presented simultaneously in voice and text.

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/04/mental-health-symposium-second-life/feed/ 1 SimHealth 2012 http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/04/simhealth-2012/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/04/simhealth-2012/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:42:05 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=717 Once again apologies for the infrequent updates to this site – my PhD studies are certainly dominating my time in regards to virtual worlds, which is as it should be.

I just thought I’d give a quick heads-up that I’ll be presenting a poster on the opportunities for inter-professional clinical simulation within virtual world environments at SimHealth 2012 in Sydney in September.

If you’re going to be there, I’d love to catch up for a chat.

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/04/simhealth-2012/feed/ 0 CAMDASS helps untrained personnel perform medical procedures http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/02/camdass-helps-untrained-personnel-perform-medical-procedures/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/02/camdass-helps-untrained-personnel-perform-medical-procedures/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:08:41 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=714
Before we are able to download knowledge straight to our brains – Matrix style – gaining medical expertise will remain a slow and painful process. That’s fine by most people, who can just go and visit a trained doctor. But what if you are a member of a small team of specialists operating at a remote, isolated location with no immediate access to medical resources? Then you either need to be a doctor, or you need the Computer Assisted Medical Diagnosis and Surgery System. Devised by the European Space Agency (ESA), the augmented reality-based CAMDASS aims to provide astronauts with instant medical know-how.The underlying idea here is to provide automated, step-by-step guidance to an untrained operator of a medical device. A head-mounted display unit is used to superimpose instructional images on what the person performing the medical procedure is actually seeing. A section of the subject’s body is “registered” by the system using a set of markers. The resultant image is then merged with a corresponding image of a model patient.
Via www.gizmag.com

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/02/camdass-helps-untrained-personnel-perform-medical-procedures/feed/ 0 Jibe as simulation platform: initial thoughts http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/01/jibe-as-simulation-platform-initial-thoughts/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/01/jibe-as-simulation-platform-initial-thoughts/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:23:33 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=706 I spent some time in recent weeks with John “Pathfinder” Lester, formerly of Linden Lab and now Director of Community Development at Reaction Grid. The purpose was for a walkthrough of the Jibe platform, which is a merger of Unity3D and other technologies to make a more comprehensive learning experience. I hooked up with John for a tour as I’m actively looking for a platform on which to base my upcoming research.

To say the walkthrough was a revelation was a bit of an understatement. I’d made the decision more than a year ago that I wouldn’t be using Second Life as the platform for my proposed simulation environment. My reasons for that are numerous but it basically came down to fine detail – I’ve seen a few demos of the Unity3D engine in action and for what I’m looking for it’s a markedly superior option, even factoring in Second Life’s potential development path over the coming 2-3 years. So, I was working under the assumption of a Unity3D only option – until I checked out Jibe.

So what is it? I’ll quote the official blurb as it summarises it pretty well:

The Jibe platform is an extensible architecture that uses a middleware abstraction layer to communicate with multiple backend systems (currently SmartFox & Photon) and frontends (currently Unity3D)

For the layperson, it means that aside from the 3D environment you’re interacting with, Jibe can bring in data from other systems. Whether it’s web content, 3D or other graphical content, it can be integrated into the viewing experience. Here’s a graphic demonstrating it:


(Click on the picture for full size)

For the educator / clinician wanting to create an immersive and realistic simulation, all this is essentially technical information that doesn’t need to be known. Which leads me to what impressed most with Jibe: the interface itself. Although I’d argue the overall browsing interface could do with some input from a designer (read: it’s not pretty), it does intrinsically work and removes a lot of the downsides research to date has shown about using Second Life or OpenSim on its own. Let’s use an example:

(Click here for the full size version)

What you’re seeing here is my avatar standing in front of a model of a virus. In this case it’s the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). I can rotate the virus, check out all it’s aspects and when clicking on it, related information (in this case simple Wikipedia entry on HIV) opens in the same browser window I’m using. Obviously it doesn’t have to be Wikipedia – the sky’s the limit. Above the Unity window are a bunch of social media buttons allowing you to share information you’re interacting with.

If you refer to the Jibe graphic further above, remember that essentially anything can be bolted into the Jibe platform. If I were to use this platform I’d be looking at some sort of database connection that allowed me to have common clinical pathways viewed step by step as an avatar completes the task. You can also choose to have key content networked or local, meaning you could ‘phase’content for people progressing through the simulation at different paces. It’s all doable, it just takes time to set-up. As far as creating content, any pre-fab stuff from the Unity3D store can be pulled into Jibe.

If you’re interested in finding out more, this introduction to Jibe is useful. As far as pricing goes, check out the ReactionGrid Shop for options.

After spending around an hour being shown around Jibe, it really struck me how far advanced it was as a tool for educators compared to Second Life in particular. That statement is very dependent on the type of education occurring, but for more intricate work, the Unity3D interface combined with the use of well recognised standards for better interoperability, makes Jibe a very tasty option indeed.

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/01/jibe-as-simulation-platform-initial-thoughts/feed/ 0 Sensics’ self-contained virtual-reality helmet http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/01/we-drive-sensics-self-contained-virtual-reality-helmet/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/01/we-drive-sensics-self-contained-virtual-reality-helmet/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:51:35 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=702 SmartGoggles is a tech demonstrator, not a product you or I can buy, but it’s an interesting look at a potential future of entertainment devices. In the demo I saw on its stereo goggles, you have the first-person perspective of a giant, towering over skyscrapers. With a game controller, you can punch them and they collapse. As you turn around, your view moves with your head. It worked well enough for me, and unlike some virtual reality-products I’ve tried before, I didn’t notice any nauseating lag between my movements and the view of what I saw.

Via ces.cnet.com

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2012/01/we-drive-sensics-self-contained-virtual-reality-helmet/feed/ 0 Robots as simulation tools: great summary of progress http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/12/robots-as-simulation-tools-great-summary-of-progress/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/12/robots-as-simulation-tools-great-summary-of-progress/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:34:42 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=691 Today I stumbled across this great bunch of photos on the National Geographic site, showing a range of advanced robotics projects underway (some of which I’ve covered here before, including the one pictured).

Have a look through them all and you can see some of the superb simulation opportunities these robots will provide.

Would love to hear your thoughts on potential applications as well!

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/12/robots-as-simulation-tools-great-summary-of-progress/feed/ 1 Enhanced clinical simulation information for you (and me) http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/10/enhanced-clinical-simulation-information-for-you-and-me/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/10/enhanced-clinical-simulation-information-for-you-and-me/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:45:41 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=683 Over the weekend I familiarised myself with Scoop.it, thanks to the kindness of Jo Kay who provided me an invite. Basically what Scoop.it does is take a lot of the hard work out of trawling the web and social media for information on a topic of interest.

Once you spend some time setting up your subject of interest and identifying keywords for Scoop.it to search for, it goes off and finds websites / tweets / blog posts for you to look at and ‘curate’. You then have the choice of posting any relevant stuff to your topic page, which people can then follow. You can also choose to have your individual selections posted to your connected Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus or Linked In accounts.

So, without further ado I’m please to have set up a Clinical Simulation page on Sccop.it, so please feel free to use it! You’ll also see at the top right-hand side of this site a little widget featuring the last few articles of interest I’ve found.

Enjoy. I’ll be curating content pretty regularly as it’s a great way for me to keep abreast of the field for my studies.

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/10/enhanced-clinical-simulation-information-for-you-and-me/feed/ 0 Emergency home-based birth simulation http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/09/emergency-home-based-birth-simulation/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/09/emergency-home-based-birth-simulation/#comments Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:40:06 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=673 One of the biggest challenges with online or PC-based simulations is the infrastructure required to run them. The move to web-based simulations is key to resolving that issue although web-based currently can come with a trade-off on complexity in a lot of cases.

That said, sometimes simplicity can still cover key concepts and that’s evident with a nice little simulation developed by the Engender Game Group at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

It provides a home-based scenario where a woman needs support through delivering her baby. It covers everything from the initial meeting through to initial post-natal care until medical assistance arrives. Have a go for yourself.

For the record I’ve confirmed the validity of my choice not to become a midwife, as I got barely more than half the questions in the scenario correct!

[via Serious Games Market]

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/09/emergency-home-based-birth-simulation/feed/ 0 PhD: let the marathon begin http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/07/phd-let-the-marathon-begin/ http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/07/phd-let-the-marathon-begin/#comments Sun, 31 Jul 2011 08:35:30 +0000 David Holloway http://www.metaversehealth.com/?p=661 This post will be of little interest to most people but for the few that may be, here we go. This week I formally commenced my PhD candidature. It’s been a hell of a ride already getting orientated (a half-day series of sessions on the University and its approach to higher degree students).

I’ll be attempting to complete the PhD in 5 years part-time, which is on the optimistic side of the scale but you never know, I may pull it off. You’ll be pleased to know that my research topic, although not totally finalised, will definitely have at its centre the question of whether virtual environments can increase clinician competence and confidence.

I’m looking forward to posting lots of links to cutting edge research as I run across it in my studies. I may even deliver something myself ;)

]]> http://www.metaversehealth.com/2011/07/phd-let-the-marathon-begin/feed/ 7