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From: lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu (a.k.a. Chri)
Newsgroups: sci.virtual-worlds
Subject: Re: VR and the handicapped
Message-ID: <10583@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 5 Nov 90 03:42:21 GMT
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[Chris gave me permission to post the following email between us.
Feel free to comment on our discussion. -- Bob Jacobson, Moderator]

        (From Bob:)
        Especially needed are insights from people in the biomedical
        professions.  I would especially like to here from someone
        in your situation about virtual interface technology's use in
        the laboratory, for the benefit of designers who may be thinking
        up technology for the health laboratory market.
        
Hmmm.  I read your email message when it first arrived, and have been
thinking about this issue.  Unfortunately, I don't yet see a real use
for V.R. interface technology in the lab.  

The basic problem is that the health sciences (at least the ones I
have been exposed to) are somewhat behind in computer technology.  In
the public health lab that I work for we use a VAX 11/750 (!) as our
main computer, and are trying to migrate to a VAXstation 3100.  We
also have minicomputers like Hewlett Packard (3000, I think) and a
Perkin Elmer running a real-time operating system for real-time data
aquisition.  We are currently in the process of sending out an RFP for
a new main computer (our old 11/750 is incredibly overloaded) with
some commercial health-lab software.

The health science computer industry seems to lag well behind "cutting
edge" computer technology.  It still seems to be buried in programs
that do administrative tasks, maintain databases, and converse with
intelligent lab instruments.  Some of the more "exotic" technology we
are looking at is in areas like speech recognition (so pathologists
need not look up from microscopes to log results into a computer) and
electronic report-form editing and preview (to save paper and time).
This, of course, is old-tech in terms of current computer science.

As for V.R. in health sciences, the only thing that I think might help
is scientific visualization software.  But even this is a ways off.
 

I will keep thinking about V.R. in the health sciences.  It is an
intriguing question/problem.  If I come up with anything, I will
certainly post my thoughts.

                                        .oO Chris Oo.

Christopher Lishka 608-262-4485  "Dad, don't give in to mob mentality!"
Wisconsin State Lab. of Hygiene                                -- Bart Simpson
   lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu     "I'm not, Son.  I'm jumping on the bandwagon."
   uunet!uwvax!uwslh!lishka                                    -- Homer Simpson