Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications in Medicine: Analysis of the Scientific Literature

Abstract

Background Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have recently become popular research themes. However, there are no published bibliometric reports that have analyzed the corresponding scientific literature in relation to the application of these technologies in medicine. Objective We used a bibliometric approach to identify and analyze the scientific literature on VR and AR research in medicine, revealing the popular research topics, key authors, scientific institutions, countries, and journals. We further aimed to capture and describe the themes and medical conditions most commonly investigated by VR and AR research. Methods The Web of Science electronic database was searched to identify relevant papers on VR research in medicine. Basic publication and citation data were acquired using the “Analyze” and “Create Citation Report” functions of the database. Complete bibliographic data were exported to VOSviewer and Bibliometrix, dedicated bibliometric software packages, for further analyses. Visualization maps were generated to illustrate the recurring keywords and words mentioned in the titles and abstracts. Results The analysis was based on data from 8399 papers. Major research themes were diagnostic and surgical procedures, as well as rehabilitation. Commonly studied medical conditions were pain, stroke, anxiety, depression, fear, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. Overall, contributions to the literature were globally distributed with heaviest contributions from the United States and United Kingdom. Studies from more clinically related research areas such as surgery, psychology, neurosciences, and rehabilitation had higher average numbers of citations than studies from computer sciences and engineering. Conclusions The conducted bibliometric analysis unequivocally reveals the versatile emerging applications of VR and AR in medicine. With the further maturation of the technology and improved accessibility in countries where VR and AR research is strong, we expect it to have a marked impact on clinical practice and in the life of patients.

Bibliometrics and Visual Analysis of the Research Status and Trends of Postpartum Depression From 2000 to 2020

“…Other drugs, such as estrogen, progesterone and melatonin, have therapeutic effects on PPD, but there are few clinical studies and no widespread application at present (López-Muñoz and Alamo, 2013 ; López-Muñoz et al, 2017 ; Lin et al, 2018 ). There is also VR virtual therapy, which is beneficial to help managing emotional problems of patients (Falconer et al, 2016 ; Yeung et al, 2021 ). For example, VR's distracting features can distract patients from the real-world situation (Eijlers et al, 2019 ), and the creation of presence function enables patients to “experiential” designed scenarios such as cognitive behavioral therapy (Riva et al, 2007 ; David et al, 2013 ).…”

Virtual Reality for Sedation During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in Clinical Practice: Observational Study

“…Connected devices are dramatically changing many aspects in health care [4][5][6][7]. While in cardiology, the majority of devices are intended to monitor heart rhythm, others have a therapeutic purpose [8][9][10]. One such device, the virtual reality headset, is the subject of numerous studies [11][12][13][14][15] and has recently shown to improve analgesia in a small sample of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation [16,17].…”

Tracking motor activity in Virtual Reality to reveal cognitive functioning: A preliminary study

“…VR can create realistic environments, allowing for situations and experiments that may not be possible or secure in the physical world. VR has been used for many purposes such as medical training (Kan Yeung et al, 2021), occupational training (Sagnier et al, 2021) and education (Jensen & Konradsen, 2018). In the last decades, VR has become more mainstream and readily available coinciding with the opening up of new possibilities in the fields of cognitive and behavioural assessment (Kan Yeung et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2019).…”

“…VR has been used for many purposes such as medical training (Kan Yeung et al, 2021), occupational training (Sagnier et al, 2021) and education (Jensen & Konradsen, 2018). In the last decades, VR has become more mainstream and readily available coinciding with the opening up of new possibilities in the fields of cognitive and behavioural assessment (Kan Yeung et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2019). Indeed, VR has been used in cognitive psychology to investigate and evaluate a variety of cognitive processes such as learning and memory (Ribeiro et al, 2021;Ribeiro et al, 2020a;Ribeiro et al, 2020b).…”