Application areas of multi-user virtual environments in the healthcare context.

This study conducts a systematic literature review on the application of the three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW) in healthcare context. During the past decade, 3DVWs have emerged as a cutting edge technology that has much to offer to the healthcare sector. Our systematic review began with an initial set of 1088 studies published from 1990 to 2013 which have used 3DVWs for the healthcare specific purposes.

A decade of research on the use of three-dimensional virtual worlds in health care: a systematic literature review.

Background: A three-dimensional virtual world (3DVW) is a computer-simulated electronic 3D virtual environment that users can explore, inhabit, communicate, and interact with via avatars, which are graphical representations of the users. Since the early 2000s, 3DVWs have emerged as a technology that has much to offer the health care sector.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize different application areas of various 3DVWs in health and medical context and categorize them into meaningful categories.