Virtual reality (VR) has now emerged
as a promising tool in many domains of therapy and rehabilitation (Weiss &
Jessel, 1998; Glantz, Rizzo, & Graap, 2003; Zimand et al. 2003; Rizzo,
Schultheis, Kerns, & Mateer, 2004). Continuing advances in VR technology,
along with concomitant system-cost reductions, have supported the development of
more usable, useful, and accessible VR systems that can uniquely target a wide
range of physical, psychological, and cognitive rehabilitation concerns and
research questions. What makes VR application development in the therapy and
rehabilitation sciences so distinctively important is that it represents more
than a simple linear extension of existing computer technology for human use.
VR offers the potential to create
systematic human testing, training, and treatment environments that allow for
the precise control of complex, immersive, dynamic 3D stimulus presentations,
within which sophisticated interaction, behavioral tracking, and performance
recording is possible. Much like an aircraft simulator serves to test and train
piloting ability, virtual environments (VEs) can be developed to present
simulations that assess and rehabilitate human functional performance under a
range of stimulus conditions that are not easily deliverable and controllable
in the real world. When combining these assets within the context of functionally
relevant, ecologically enhanced VEs, a fundamental advancement could emerge in
how human functioning can be addressed in many rehabilitation disciplines.
Generally, a SWOT analysis serves to
uncover the optimal match between the internal strengths and weaknesses of a
given entity and the environmental trends (opportunities and threats) that the
entity must face in the marketplace.
- A strength can be viewed as a resource, a unique approach, or capacity that allows an entity to achieve its defined goals (e.g., VR can allow for precise control of stimulus delivery within a realistic training or rehabilitation simulation).
- A weakness is a limitation, fault, or defect in the entity that impedes progress toward defined goals (e.g., the limited field of view and resolution in a head-mounted display can limit usability and perceptual realism).
- An opportunity pertains to internal or external forces in the entity’s operating environment, such as a trend that increases demand for what the entity can provide or allows the entity to provide it more effectively (e.g., tremendous growth in the interactive digital gaming area has driven development of the high-quality, yet low-cost graphics cards needed to make VR deliverable on a basic PC).
- A threat can be any unfavorable situation in the entity’s environment that impedes its strategy by presenting a barrier or constraint that limits achievement of goals (e.g., clinical administrators’ and financial officers’ belief that VR equipment is too expensive to incorporate into mainstream practice).
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