Although radiation therapy (RT) provides several therapeutic advantages in terms of cancer control and quality of life, it continues to be a poorly understood field by most students and health workers. Theoretical lessons are not sufficient, while practical exercitations are time-consuming, both in terms of man- and machine-hours. Furthermore, RT candidates often have several prejudices that may affect their treatment choices, favoring the more well-known surgical or chemotherapy approaches or resulting in a high level of anxiety during treatment. Moreover, the misperception of low treatment control and its related side effects could worsen the patients' psychological distress, already brought by a cancer diagnosis. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) could be a valid instrument for promoting the awareness of radiation oncology as a discipline with its own identity and respect in the scientific community. The aim of the present work is to provide a glance at the recent developments in AR/VR to support students' education, personnel training and patients' empowerment in this clinical setting. The main findings of our work show that such technologies have already become a reality in many institutions worldwide and it has been shown to be an effective strategy for raising educational standards, improving health workers' skills and promoting patients' well-being and compliance. These results seem to promote the further implementation of AR/VR technologies and their development as a driving force of a much-hoped-for revolution in the way patients are treated and radiation oncology is taught.
Virtual and Augmented Reality as a Novel Opportunity to Unleash the Power of Radiotherapy in the Digital Era: A Scoping Review / G. Marvaso, M. Pepa, S. Volpe, F. Mastroleo, M. Zaffaroni, M.G. Vincini, G. Corrao, L. Bergamaschi, K. Mazzocco, G. Pravettoni, R. Orecchia, B.A. Jereczek-Fossa. - In: APPLIED SCIENCES. - ISSN 2076-3417. - 12:22(2022 Nov), pp. 11308.1-11308.14. [10.3390/app122211308]
Virtual and Augmented Reality as a Novel Opportunity to Unleash the Power of Radiotherapy in the Digital Era: A Scoping Review
G. MarvasoPrimo
;M. PepaSecondo
;S. Volpe;K. Mazzocco;G. Pravettoni;R. OrecchiaPenultimo
;B.A. Jereczek-FossaUltimo
2022
Abstract
Although radiation therapy (RT) provides several therapeutic advantages in terms of cancer control and quality of life, it continues to be a poorly understood field by most students and health workers. Theoretical lessons are not sufficient, while practical exercitations are time-consuming, both in terms of man- and machine-hours. Furthermore, RT candidates often have several prejudices that may affect their treatment choices, favoring the more well-known surgical or chemotherapy approaches or resulting in a high level of anxiety during treatment. Moreover, the misperception of low treatment control and its related side effects could worsen the patients' psychological distress, already brought by a cancer diagnosis. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) could be a valid instrument for promoting the awareness of radiation oncology as a discipline with its own identity and respect in the scientific community. The aim of the present work is to provide a glance at the recent developments in AR/VR to support students' education, personnel training and patients' empowerment in this clinical setting. The main findings of our work show that such technologies have already become a reality in many institutions worldwide and it has been shown to be an effective strategy for raising educational standards, improving health workers' skills and promoting patients' well-being and compliance. These results seem to promote the further implementation of AR/VR technologies and their development as a driving force of a much-hoped-for revolution in the way patients are treated and radiation oncology is taught.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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