Virtual reality in neurosurgery

Definition: Virtual reality enables users to immerse themselves in a virtua l three-dimensional world and to interact in this world. The simulation is different from the kind in computer games, in which the viewer is active bu t acts in a nonrealistic world, or on the TV screen, where we are passively driven in an active world. In virtual reality elements look realistic, the y change their characteristics and have almost real-world unpredictability. Use of virtual reality: Virtual reality is not only implemented in gambling dens and the entertainment industry but also in manufacturing processes (c ars,furniture etc.), military applications and medicine. Especially the las t two areas are strongly correlated, because telemedicine or telesurgery wa s originated for military reasons to operate on war victims from a secure d istance or to perform surgery on astronauts in an orbiting space station. I n medicine and especially neurosurgery virtual-reality methods are used for education, surgical planning and simulation on a virtual patient.