Clinical Chemistry 47: 2190-a, 2001;
(Clinical Chemistry. 2001;47:2190.)
© 2001 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.
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Book, Software, and Web Site Reviews |
Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 2001. James D. Westwood, ed. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: IOS Press, 2001, 604 pp., $99.00. ISBN 1-58603-143-0.
Bruce Beckwith
Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215
This volume consists of the proceedings of a Conference of the same name held in January 2001 in Newport Beach, CA. The book begins with a preface by the editor that expounds nicely on the conference theme: Outer Space, Inner Space, Virtual Space. Next comes an essay by Richard Satava on what he calls the "Biointelligence Age". He proposes that the Information Age is being replaced by a nascent age marked by interdisciplinary research, which is occurring at the intersections of biologic, physical, and information sciences. Satava makes a cogent argument for the importance of this new era of research, citing examples of proposed implantable microelectronic devices that could interact with living cells under the guidance of a decision-support system, a prospect that might drastically alter methods of treatment or diagnosis.
The core of the book comprises 112 presentations from the conference. Although the conference was divided into separate sessions devoted to "Simulations", "Computer Assisted Surgery", "Surgical Simulation", "Visualization and Modeling", "Virtual Reality and Mental Health", "Medical Education", and "Telemedicine", the book presents the papers without detectable ordering or grouping. Some of the papers are appealing; for example, one intriguing paper deals with a virtual reality trainer for rat dissection in microgravity, developed for use by future research astronauts manning the International Space Station. Unfortunately, very few of the abstracts address issues closely related to clinical chemistry or laboratory medicine. The anatomic pathologists among our readers may find a bit more to interest them, such as the description of a virtual anatomy laboratory that can be used collaboratively via the Internet.
A final weakness of this volume is the limitation imposed by virtue of it being a printed work. Given the nature of the topic, many of these presentations would be much more compelling if they were presented in a multimedia fashion: on a web site or companion compact disc. Although this book may be of interest to those with strong informatics backgrounds or desiring an overview of current research in the specialized area of medical virtual reality, it is not designed as an introduction to the field, and therefore, the vast majority of our readership can safely bypass this volume.
