Emotional response to virtual reality exposure across different cultures: the role of the attribution process.

Many studies have shown the ability of media--television, movies, and virtual reality (VR) experiences--to elicit emotions. Nevertheless, it is still unclear how the different factors involved--user related and medium related--play a role in producing an emotional response during a VR experience. We investigate this issue, analyzing the role played by the cultural and technological backgrounds of the users in the emotional responses to VR.

Cyborg mini-trainer.

We present the smallest surgical trainer with a total weight of 400 gr, built in aluminum of 25 cm large and 24 cm wide, and 23 cm high. It's a system integrated by a small and open module, a lamp and a microcamera connected to a Head Mounted display. It holds two endoscopic instruments, and items to make knots or sutures and enhance visual-motor coordination.

Virtual reality on mobile phones to reduce anxiety in outpatient surgery.

When undergo ambulatory surgical operations, the majority of patients experience high level of anxiety. Different experimental studies have shown that distraction techniques are effective in reducing pain and related anxiety. Since Virtual reality (VR) has been demonstrated a good distraction technique, it has been repeatedly used in hospital contexts for reducing pain in burned patients, but it has never been used during surgical operations.

A mesh-free mechanical model of the upper gastrointestinal system.

Realistic behavior in Computer Simulation of biological system (e.g. humans organs) is essential to 3D modeling in medicine.

Modeling interactions with a computer representation of the upper gastrointestinal system.

Our goal is to simulate interactions with a computer model of the esophagus and the stomach, built from the Visible Human database, and reported in previous works. The optical distortion of the endoscope was simulated during navigation allowing the user a quantitative assessment of distortion when measures an injury. Another improvement to our model is the inclusion of abnormal anatomy, from two types, the first one is related to the color features of the disease and the second is a direct modification in the triangle structure of the mesh, with the goal to simulate blisters and injures in the model.

Applications of computer assisted surgery and medical robotics at the ISSSTE, México: preliminary results.

We present the first results of four projects of a second phase of a Mexican Project Computer Assisted Surgery and Medical Robotics, supported by the Mexican Science and Technology National Council (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) under grant SALUD-2002-C01-8181. The projects are being developed by three universities (UNAM, UAM, ITESM) and the goal of this project is to integrate a laboratory in a Hospital of the ISSSTE to give service to surgeons or clinicians of Endoscopic surgeons, urologist, gastrointestinal endoscopist and neurosurgeons.

Cybertherapy--new applications for discomfort reductions. Surgical care unit of heart, neonatology care unit, transplant kidney care unit, delivery room-cesarean surgery and ambulatory surgery, 27 case reports.

We demonstrate the feasibility of virtual reality scenarios to reduce discomfort in patients during ambulatory and obstetric surgeries and patients hospitalized in postoperative care units from Cardiac, nephrology, and neonatology unirs. 27 patients have been participated in this preliminary reports from 3 public hospitals from Mexico city in 2006. The VR scenarios were developed in the Virtual Reality Medical Center of San Diego CA, USA, and the HMD is from the Southern University of los Angeles, CA, USA.