Virtual reality: a railroad for structural bioinformatics towards advanced cancer research
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Bioinformatics, Oncology, Human-Computer Interaction
- Keywords
- Virtual reality (VR), 3D immersive visualization, head-mounted display (HMD)/VR headset, VR hand controls, data gloves, haptic technology, CAVE
- Copyright
- © 2017 Prakaash et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2017. Virtual reality: a railroad for structural bioinformatics towards advanced cancer research. PeerJ Preprints 5:e2960v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2960v1
Abstract
Technology has been a part of everyone’s life for decades now, and its impact on our lifestyle only seems to increase with time. Considering applications in the field of scientific research till date, it has made exponential advancements and created a new hallmark. ‘Virtual Reality’ is one of the most applicable, impressive and recently uplifted technologies that has been implemented in numerous approaches already. In the light of structural biological studies, virtual reality technology enables immersive 3D visualization of molecular structures, interactions, mechanisms etc., and molecular modelling at the atomic level facilitating a better understanding of the ‘science behind the scene’. In molecular cancer studies, this helps peruse and diagnose defective root causes and unveil effective therapeutic approaches. Although this technology has primarily interested a huge number of researchers and institutes performing structural bioinformatics studies, many researchers across the globe and a large section of the public are still in the dark about its practicality and benefits, some of the main reasons being lack of exposure and the issue with affordability. Thus, besides shedding light on the various ways in which virtual reality has been lately implied to cancer research and therapy, this article aims to promote and encourage usage of a simple, cost-effective platform for 3D immersive visualization of molecular structures for the insufficiently funded community to begin with experiencing molecular virtual reality. It also intends to propose a new permutation of concepts to contribute to an advanced approach in structural cancer studies where scientists can superlatively immerse into the cellular environments and seek answers by virtually communicating with the entities in the microscopic realm. This versatile technology has thus far inevitably proven to possess an enormous potential and is already underway in revolutionizing education, training, scientific research and medical therapy. This article aims to educate more people about prevailing VR technologies and primarily to help accelerate this futuristic technique in cancer research and therapeutics. Albeit leading to a progress in scientific exploration, it could also spread hope and soon assist in upgrading the quality of living especially for cancer victims.
Author Comment
This is a preprint submission to PeerJ Preprints.
Supplemental Information
Combining various VR-associated technologies to form a new idea
The illustrative equation depicts a concept of combining immersive 3D audio-visuals, sensation of touch and feel of the VR environment to build an all-in-one package and strengthen cancer research through virtuality. VR headsets like Microsoft HoloLens, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift etc., suit well for the 3D immersive audio-visual component. The NIRVANA VR helmet or FEELREAL VR mask are best for the user to feel the surrounding temperature and smell the virtual environment. Haptic data gloves like Gloveone and Dexmo exoskeleton combined would provide appropriate force feedback and a realistic touch simultaneously. These technologies are primarily targeted so that cancer research is made revolutionarily interactive and beneficial.
