What are the most important VR UX design principles for healthcare?

Many people who work in healthcare and medical sciences and patients themselves may not be familiar with innovative technology or be comfortable using it. XR experiences should be designed with user-centric approaches to understand their specific needs to use the technology. Consult different groups to achieve this. You need to consider the levels of access required for devices. When making medical experiences for XR in particular, and consider how it handles the user data. Some Virtual Reality headsets are better for data protection over others. In general, technology like digital healthcare requires a lot more ethical consideration, data protection and it needs to demonstrate efficacy, and knowing the intended audience/purpose.

I would also add here something I believe is paramount and that is "prioritizing user emotions" reflecting the belief in the profound influence of the mind on healing. For chemotherapy patients for example, crafting a VR environment with calming scenes and soothing music provides a therapeutic escape. Likewise, addressing the needs of healthcare workers experiencing burnout involves offering virtual experiences such as guided meditation to enhance well-being and prevent compassion fatigue. Understanding the diverse needs of user groups enables the customization of VR experiences on a personal level, maximizing effectiveness, and positively influencing health and well-being.

Understanding the fast-paced nature of clinicians' work is critical in developing VR solutions for healthcare. It's imperative to design simulations and training programs that clinicians can immediately benefit from. A key aspect of this is ensuring a straightforward user interface, catering to users with varying levels of tech expertise. This enables quick and efficient navigation through the application. Furthermore, training modules should be concise and targeted, ideally lasting between 3-5 minutes each. This duration is optimal for keeping the sessions focused and manageable, allowing clinicians to pause and attend to real-world emergencies, which are frequent in hospital environments.

Designing VR experiences for healthcare demands a user-centric approach prioritizing comfort, safety, and realism. Clear navigation, strict data privacy, and collaborative features ensure effectiveness. Educational support aids in guiding users through procedures, and adaptability addresses diverse needs. Clear feedback mechanisms and user training contribute to creating safe, user-friendly VR healthcare experiences.

Balancing realism and abstraction in VR interventions for social anxiety can help to create experiences that are both effective and safe. Realism can provide a more immersive and realistic experience that can help users to practice and prepare for real-world social situations. However, abstraction can reduce the emotional intensity of the experience and make it easier for users to tolerate. This can be particularly important for users who have experienced social rejection or humiliation in the past.

When there is to much detail or distractions in the environment; that is not related to the simulation itself; it can have an adverse effect on the effectivity

L'objectif est de choisir le niveau approprié de réalisme et d'abstraction qui convient aux objectifs spécifiques de l'application RV. Cela implique une compréhension profonde l'audience cible, le contexte d'utilisation et les objectifs de l'application. Dans un contexte thérapeutique, un degré modéré de réalisme peut aider les patients à se confronter à leurs peurs de manière sécurisée, tandis que l'abstraction peut être utilisée pour encourager l'exploration et la réflexion. Cela peut être bénéfique pour conceptualiser des idées complexes ou créer des environnements qui échappent aux contraintes du monde réel.

As a critical care myself i think healtcare professionals are often hands-on practical learners; that are used to tactile feedback (when performing medical procedures; connect the patient to the monitor and or perform a patient assessment). This means that the transition in to a virtual 3D environment, in which they have to work with controllers, is a gap that needs to be adressed. This could mean a tutorial to let them become familiair with movement, and interaction, by using controllers

I think one of the huge benefits of Virtual Reality is the possibility to tailormade complexity to the students. This means that a scenario can be altered in the proces of learning; becoming more or less complex.