From Planes to Brains: Parallels Between Military Development of Virtual Reality Environments and Virtual Neurological Surgery

Military explorations of the practical role of simulators have served as a driving force for much of the virtual reality technology that we have today. The evolution of 3-dimensional and virtual environments from the early flight simulators used during World War II to the sophisticated training simu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:World neurosurgery 2012-09, Vol.78 (3), p.214-219
Main Authors: Schmitt, Paul J, Agarwal, Nitin, Prestigiacomo, Charles J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aircraft - history
Brain - surgery
Computer simulation
Computer Simulation - history
History, 20th Century
Humans
Military medicine
Military Science - history
Neurosurgery
Neurosurgery - history
Technology Transfer
Three-dimensional imaging
United States
User-Computer Interface
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Summary:Military explorations of the practical role of simulators have served as a driving force for much of the virtual reality technology that we have today. The evolution of 3-dimensional and virtual environments from the early flight simulators used during World War II to the sophisticated training simulators in the modern military followed a path that virtual surgical and neurosurgical devices have already begun to parallel. By understanding the evolution of military simulators as well as comparing and contrasting that evolution with current and future surgical simulators, it may be possible to expedite the development of appropriate devices and establish their validity as effective training tools. As such, this article presents a historical perspective examining the progression of neurosurgical simulators, the establishment of effective and appropriate curricula for using them, and the contributions that the military has made during the ongoing maturation of this exciting treatment and training modality.
ISSN:1878-8750
1878-8769
DOI:10.1016/j.wneu.2012.06.014