Virtual reality allows multiple scientists to ‘walk’ through cancer cells
UNSW Art & Design’s Associate Professor John McGhee is working with Professor Maria Kavallaris, from UNSW Medicine and Children’s Cancer Institute, in the second phase of the Journey to the Centre of the Cell project, a major initiative that combines scientific data, microscopy images and animation to create a virtual reality (VR) world of cells and blood vessels that can be seen through headsets.
“We can have multiple scientists logging in at once with users able to view the same data,” he says. “This could help researchers ask questions they’ve never thought of.”
“Our goal is to be able to see a drug enter into the tumour, so we can highlight the target for chemotherapy or radiotherapy and deploy a drug more accurately,” says McGhee.
Kavallaris, a leading cancer biology researcher and nanomedicine expert, says tracking 3D cells in tumours can show scientists what happens when cells move in real time – information that can be used when looking at the spread of cancer.
The technology is already being trialled on Monash University pharmaceutical science students learning about cancer drug delivery to see if it improves their understanding.
"We've now got data that shows by putting a headset on and walking in virtual reality, we have seen a significant improvement in their exam results, compared to others who were using traditional media," McGhee said.
See the full story here: http://www.medianet.com.au/releases/151209/