It is safe to say virtual reality will play an increasing role of importance in scientific research. After all, there are a lot of opportunities waiting to be explored in this regard. There is now a new way to study incredibly detailed images captured by rather expensive microscopes. More specifically, scientists will be able to move through these 3D scans in virtual reality. A very different take on scientific research that will open up a lot of new opportunities in the future.
Virtual Reality Could Transform Scientific Research
There are many ways virtual reality could be beneficial to scientific research all over the world. Although there are many different ways to go about things, the new method developed by Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering certainly sets an interesting precedent. More specifically, the team has come up with a way to let researchers physically walk through 3D scanned images in virtual reality. Up until now, there has never been such an up-close and personal way to view microscope-based scans.
The opportunities created by this new technology are virtually limitless. More specifically, one of the obvious use cases would be to explore brain structures and their connections in VR. Being able to walk through massively enhanced and detailed scams made by the world’s most powerful microscopes is certainly something few people had ever expected to see. Then again, there is a lot more to virtual reality technology than people give it credit for right now.
For the time being, it remains to be seen how this technology will be implemented in the coming months and years. The team at Wyss Center and University of Geneva have certainly shown the world what VR is capable of in the medical sector. This is a development which comes at a rather opportune time for the VR industry as well. We need more real-life use cases for this technology as we speak. Finding those use cases in the medical sector is the best possible outcome.
The big question is whether or not this technology will ever be used on a large scale. The potential to do so is certainly there, even though this VR-based tool is still in the very early stages of development. With new options to explore for scientists, they may be able to come up with treatments and cures for major diseases and abnormalities. Only time will tell whether or not that will be the case, though.
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