Florida Anesthesia Computer and Engineering Team
©
University of Florida, 1996
The Gainesville anesthesia patient simulator is an example of something referred to as simulated reality: a "reality" in which the user does not merely watch but is able to actually participate. The user supplies input to the system by pushing buttons or administering drugs, and the computer uses real-world data to determine the results of these actions. For example, giving the simulated patient hypoxic gas mixtures results in injuries to the "patient," and resuscitation can revitalize it when performed appropriately. These kind of systems react just as a real patient would, without the risk of jeopardizing the patient's safety.
The term "virtual reality" is commonly reserved for the creation by a computer of graphical images, sounds, and sensations that mimic the real world. Some of the current virtual reality programs give users the sense that they are part of the action and may require people to wear headphones, head-mounted displays, or special helmets that feed pertinent images to the person and special gloves that give the user the illusion of interacting with objects.
Virtual reality technology still is in its infancy: jerky and somewhat stylistic images combined with movement that is still not realistic are just a few of the many problems engineers still have to concern themselves with.
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