Hygiene aspects of the VR systems applications

摘要

Applications of VR accommodate a wide spectrum of public andprofessional users. The safety issues and possible side effects of theseapplications are given little attention. All of the adverse reactions toVR may be classified under the terms cyberpathology and cybersickness.Reported physical pathologies include repetitive stress injury,immersion injury, and transmittable disease. Cybersickness has beendescribed as a form of common motion sickness (seasickness, motionsickness) which has adverse effects upon the visual, neural, andpsychological status. The authors note that the phenomenon is properlycalled a syndrome because of its wide variety of sign and symptoms.Symptoms include: drowsiness, general discomfort, apathy, headache,stomach awareness, disorientation, fatigue, and incapacitation. Nauseais a malfunction of the vestibule-ocular reflex (VOR) due to the VRsystem time lag. Adverse neurological effects on the central nervoussystem (CNS) are observed like those caused by an electromagnetic field(EMF) upon the body. An additional problem of the CNS represents“flicker vertigo”. This is a condition in which individualssuffer from a seizure if observing a flickering light. Another problemobserved during VR simulations is anxiety. This occurs in a number ofways such as a VR user experiencing acrophobia and claustrophobia. Theseanxieties, however, uncomfortable at the time, appear to have nopermanent effects. To assure the safety of persons in contact with VRequipment it is necessary to minimize the possibility of misuse