Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
On the Horizon
Virtual reality—the use of computers to immerse the user in a multimedia environment that's rich
enough in synthetic cues to make the simulated environment seem real—has great potential in
bioinformatics R&D. In the general marketplace, the commercial uses of virtual reality technology
include virtual prototyping, museum displays, design evaluation, architecture, trade show displays,
engineering, aerospace simulation, collaborative engineering, game development, and education.
Most of these applications of the technology translate directly to bioinformatics applications. For
example, the virtual prototyping of the functionality of running shoes or tractors isn't conceptually
different from prototyping drugs and their effects on different human protein binding sites. Just as
many of the traditional museums have been placed online to allow access to those who don't have
museums in their communities, so virtual tours of protein molecules allow researchers and students
access to data in a form that they couldn't otherwise access.
Design evaluation, which involves illustrating how a device or apparatus will look, can also be applied
to protein structures. Virtual reality visualization methods can illustrate, for example, the different
shapes that a protein molecule might assume with changes in local pH or temperature. Similarly, just
as virtual architecture applications allow potential clients to experience the finished product before
it's built, a virtual reality model of a protein structure allows researchers to work with 3D images of
molecules before they're actually synthesized. The advantage of this approach is that it allows
potential problems to be identified before resources are invested in developing the molecule.
To date, the greatest commercial use of virtual reality in molecular biology is in the form of booth
attractions at trade shows. The pharmaceutical industry spends several hundred-million dollars
annually on the marketing of drugs at major medical conferences, and virtual reality and other forms
of visualization technology are commonly used to attract future prescribers to their booths and to
quickly communicate the mechanism of action and relative efficacy of their drugs.
Similarly, in the aerospace industry, the practical application of virtual reality includes everything
from turbine design to flight simulation training for pilots and support personnel. Much of this is in
the form of collaborative engineering, where engineers share models and interact online.
Collaborative engineering has been used for years in the automotive and aerospace industries to
design subsystems and test their functionality before actually creating them. The result is that
ineffective designs are disposed of before they make it to the prototyping stage, saving the
companies time and money.
Closely related to virtual reality entertainment systems in which combatants donning virtual reality
helmets immerse themselves in battle situations is the use of virtual reality in education. Several
medical boards have invested heavily in virtual patient encounter systems in which physicians
interact with animated, talking 3D patient simulations. These virtual reality systems allow medical
students, residents, and physicians to develop their clinical pattern-recognition skills before
interacting with patients suffering from the conditions being studied.
These and other applications of virtual reality have obvious application in molecular biology and
bioinformatics research. For example, in the area of education, there is a significant gulf in what
traditionally educated health care professionals and researchers understand about the bioinformatics
arena. Similarly, virtual reality technologies can be used to enable students, researchers, and
professionals in other fields to understand and help address the challenges in bioinformatics.
