Why we will also, but not exclusively, rely on VR and AR in medical technology in 2021 – A follow-up report on the Health Reality event.

Back in October 2020, Thomas Immich highlighted the development of virtual and augmented technologies in his presentation “Inner pig dog meets boss” at the Health Reality event. However, VR & AR in medical technology will continue to be of interest to us in 2021.

“Augmented and mixed reality are well suited for diverse usage scenarios and open up new perspectives. In the BMBF research project MightyU, for example, we are designing and studying a target group-specific play environment for children and adolescents with infantile cerebral palsy (ICP). However, the new possibilities for media perception are only a partial benefit. In order to offer the children real motivational support in everyday therapy in the project, the application contexts must be studied very closely to the target group – through numerous observations and interviews of affected children, parents and therapists.

A VR, AR, or MR application that is intended to motivate in the long term also includes, in particular, the appropriate use of gamification methods. For example, children with ICP are less likely to be motivated by extrinsic rewards such as badges or points than by the personal experience of competence and the feeling of being “used.” Combine new types of media perception such as VR or AR with appropriate gamified motivators, and such interaction settings can motivate end users in the long term and yield measurable therapeutic success.”

A retrospective – inner pig dog meets end opponent

On 07.10. an event was held at the Health Reality Lab under the title “Games for Health”. Thomas Immich accompanied the event with a talk on UX & Gamification: inner pig dog meets boss. You can find out more about the lecture in our news article on the Health Reality event.