[quote]*Virtual Rehabilitation
*An opportunity has arisen for a PhD in the area of Virtual Rehabilitation for
Stroke Patients, to be carried out with the School of Informatics & Engineering
and the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at Flinders University.
The major goals of rehabilitation are the enhancement of functional ability and
greater participation in community life. Rehabilitation therapy aims to improve
motor, cognitive and sensory functions, to allow patients to participate more
fully in everyday life. Abilities and outcomes need to be carefully assessed so
that therapy can be tailored to meet individual needs. One of the challenges
faced by therapists is to provide intervention tasks that are motivating as well
as useful.
Virtual reality-based therapy is a relatively new development in rehabilitation,
but its suitability in this arena is becoming rapidly accepted. VR provides the
opportunity for experiential learning in a safe yet challenging environment, in
which the complexity of tasks can be gradually increased. VR allows for
assessment, and can be designed to be motivating and appealing to the patients.
The object of the PhD will be to develop an interactive VR simulation created
with computer hardware and software to allow rehabilitation patients to engage
in a simulated real world environment.[/quote]
Click here for scholarship details (yes , it's paid)
This is a great opportunity to apply games technology to a very worthwhile field.
Medical simulation is a multi billion dollar industry and is quickly growing. Many graduates of medical degrees (including your GP/surgeon/specialist) have limited exposure to the real cases that they are lucky enough to encounter on their shift. Couple this with a lack of mentoring (who can afford to pay a specialist to train them... let alone one on one) and you get the idea; that VR has a massive contribution to make to improving training.
In this project you could create simulations to reproduce aspects of daily life that a stroke patient would struggle with. This could be as simple as making a cup of coffee or withdrawing cash from an ATM. Giving a patient an opportunity to practice in an unthreatenning environment could significantly improve their independence and quality of life.
But if making games is all that fires your boiler... think about what it means to have 3 years FT experience choosing/evaluating/using the best VR tools and APIs.
-
- Souri2007-07-24 23:37:42
PhD in Virtual Rehab
[quote]*Virtual Rehabilitation
*An opportunity has arisen for a PhD in the area of Virtual Rehabilitation for
Stroke Patients, to be carried out with the School of Informatics & Engineering
and the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at Flinders University.
The major goals of rehabilitation are the enhancement of functional ability and
greater participation in community life. Rehabilitation therapy aims to improve
motor, cognitive and sensory functions, to allow patients to participate more
fully in everyday life. Abilities and outcomes need to be carefully assessed so
that therapy can be tailored to meet individual needs. One of the challenges
faced by therapists is to provide intervention tasks that are motivating as well
as useful.
Virtual reality-based therapy is a relatively new development in rehabilitation,
but its suitability in this arena is becoming rapidly accepted. VR provides the
opportunity for experiential learning in a safe yet challenging environment, in
which the complexity of tasks can be gradually increased. VR allows for
assessment, and can be designed to be motivating and appealing to the patients.
The object of the PhD will be to develop an interactive VR simulation created
with computer hardware and software to allow rehabilitation patients to engage
in a simulated real world environment.[/quote]
Click here for scholarship details (yes , it's paid)
This is a great opportunity to apply games technology to a very worthwhile field.
Medical simulation is a multi billion dollar industry and is quickly growing. Many graduates of medical degrees (including your GP/surgeon/specialist) have limited exposure to the real cases that they are lucky enough to encounter on their shift. Couple this with a lack of mentoring (who can afford to pay a specialist to train them... let alone one on one) and you get the idea; that VR has a massive contribution to make to improving training.
In this project you could create simulations to reproduce aspects of daily life that a stroke patient would struggle with. This could be as simple as making a cup of coffee or withdrawing cash from an ATM. Giving a patient an opportunity to practice in an unthreatenning environment could significantly improve their independence and quality of life.
But if making games is all that fires your boiler... think about what it means to have 3 years FT experience choosing/evaluating/using the best VR tools and APIs.
-
- Souri2007-07-24 23:37:42