Introduction to iVAS and Second Life: The internet has drastically changed the mode of scientific communication in the last two decades. However, another wave of change has recently become evident with the development of online virtual worlds, such as Second Life. This medium enables users to interact with each other in a freely available online ‘metaverse’. Second Life is currently experiencing exponential growth, and has over 10 million users worldwide. The health industry has been instrumental in its evolution and Second Life is increasingly being used by governmental bodies e.g. NASA, educational institutions e.g. The Department of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology at Imperial College London, and scientific communities e.g. Nature.
The 3D virtual world presents unique capabilities: through the use of an avatar, which represents each member, it is possible to see and communicate with other users as in the real world. Residents can communicate either by voice (VOIP) or by typing via instant messaging, body gestures, and slide or movie presentation. This gives a ‘virtual sense’ of spatial proximity which facilitates a more organic method of interaction. Furthermore, experimental surgical products or models can be created in 3D detail so that they can be used and manipulated by other users.
Many real-world conferences are streamed into the virtual world. However the iVAS conference will be entirely virtual. All exhibitors, speakers, delegates and visitors will meet for the conference within the virtual world and an actual physical venue will not exist. This will be the first surgical conference to do this, lowering the cost of attending, negating the need to travel and creating novel surgical research networks across the world.
The conference will be run in the same manner as a real-world conference, with key note addresses from internationally recognised leaders. The editorial board will consist of experts in the field from Imperial College London, Professor Ara Darzi and Professor Guang-Zhong Yang. An abstract call on surgical technology, robotics, simulation and education will be aimed at international surgical scientists.
Second Life has generated a vast amount of positive publicity for many industries that are choosing to enter the virtual world market place. iVAS aims to create a permanent surgical presence within the virtual world which will generate a unique surgical environment for research, education and collaboration. We very much hope that you will agree to be part of this exciting new project.
Conference Highlights:
A series of comprehensive presentations of world-leading academic papers.
Interactive poster sessions and group discussions.
Workshops providing more detailed information on technical and applications topics.
Tutorials providing educational material for training new professionals in the field of surgery for students, surgeons and researchers.
State-of-the-art updates and interactions with colleagues from other backgrounds.
Industry presentations, with virtual creations of current surgical equipment.
Contact: Miss Kate Miles, Department of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology, Imperial College London (email: k.miles@imperial.ac.uk or telephone: 020 7886 6666)