Application areas of multi-user virtual environments in the healthcare context

Abstract

This study conducts a systematic literature review on the application of the three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW) in healthcare context. During the past decade, 3DVWs have emerged as a cutting edge technology that has much to offer to the healthcare sector. Our systematic review began with an initial set of 1088 studies published from 1990 to 2013 which have used 3DVWs for the healthcare specific purposes. We found a variety of areas of application for the 3DVWs in healthcare, and categorised them into the following categories: education, treatment, evaluation, lifestyle and simulation. The presented big picture of application areas of 3DVWs in this study can be very valuable and insightful for the researchers and healthcare community.