The assessment of stability and reliability of a virtual reality-based intravenous injection simulator.

The aim of this study was to validate the feasibility of a virtual reality-based (without haptic feedback) intravenous injection system as an effective tool for computer-assisted instruction and training. The stability and reliability of the system were assessed. A personal computer, a needle/catheter device, and a data acquisition interface are included in this system. Using Virtual Reality Modeling Language, an interactive virtual environment was developed. Ten participants, ranging from 20 to 28 years of age, were recruited for this study. The self-learning and training procedures encompassed an intravenous catheterization process. The experimental results showed that after a few trials, the change in task time was not obvious in each trial, and the error frequency decreased slightly with more trials. High intraclass correlation coefficients also were obtained for task time and error frequency by analyzing the test-retest reliability. These results indicated that the system was stable and that the system reliability was acceptable.

Rectification of legibility distance in a driving simulator.

Visual differences lead to differences in the legibility distances of traffic signs between driving simulators and real road environments. To ensure that the legibility distance in a simulator is similar to that in the real world, this study proposes a theoretical equation for predicting legibility distance and a simple algorithm for determining the magnifying power of a traffic sign for a display system in a simulator. Experiments of traffic sign recognition using a simulator were conducted under quasi-static and dynamic driving conditions. On-road tests were also carried out under quasi-static and dynamic driving conditions. Thirty healthy and non-disabled volunteers were recruited. The experimental results showed that the proposed theoretical equation for predicting legibility distance and the simple algorithm for determining the magnifying power of traffic signs reduced the difference in legibility distances between the simulator and real road environment under quasi-static and dynamic driving conditions.

Evaluation of computer-assisted multimedia instruction in intravenous injection.

The purpose of this study was to develop a computer-assisted multimedia training course for intravenous injection and evaluate its effect on the knowledge and self-perceived performance of intravenous injection for novice nurses. Eighty-one novice nurses randomly assigned to the experimental group and control group participated a designed training procedure and took pretest and posttests. The test results were analyzed using statistical methods. From the study it could be concluded that the training course had a significant effect on the intravenous injection's knowledge. Besides, a high rate of satisfaction for the multimedia program showed the self-developed program was successful.

Psychological benefits of virtual reality for patients in rehabilitation therapy.

CONTEXT: Whether virtual rehabilitation is beneficial has not been determined. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the psychological benefits of virtual reality in rehabilitation. DESIGN: An experimental group underwent therapy with a virtual-reality-based exercise bike, and a control group underwent the therapy without virtual-reality equipment. SETTING: Hospital laboratory. PATIENTS: 30 patients suffering from spinal-cord injury. INTERVENTION: A designed rehabilitation therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Endurance, Borg's rating-of-perceived-exertion scale, the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL), and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. RESULTS: The differences between the experimental and control groups were significant for AD-ACL calmness and tension. CONCLUSION: A virtual-reality-based rehabilitation program can ease patients' tension and induce calm.

Driving performance assessment: effects of traffic accident location and alarm content.

According to accident statistics for Taiwan, the two most common traffic accident locations in urban areas are roadway segments and intersections. On roadway segments, most collisions are due to drivers not noticing the status of leading vehicle. At intersections, most collisions are due to the other driver failing to obey traffic signs. Using a driving simulator equipped with a collision warning system, this study investigated driving performance at different accident locations and between different alarm contents, and identified the relationship between crash occurrences and driving performance. Thirty participants, aged 20-29 years, were recruited in this study. Driving performance measures were perception-reaction time, movement-reaction time, speed and a crash. Experimental results indicated that due to different demands for processing information under different traffic conditions, driving performance differed at the two traffic accident locations. On a roadway segment, perception-reaction time for a beep was shorter than the time for a speech message. Nevertheless, at an intersection, a speech message was a great help to drivers and, thus, perception-reaction time was effectively reduced. In addition, logistic regression analysis indicates that perception-movement time had the greatest influence on crash occurrence.