Applications in the medical field rang from surgical training to pharmacological design. Other advancements in VR include healing patients, clinical education, and an overall rebirth of healthcare (Nichol, 2017, p. 1-2). Patients awaiting surgery can ease their nerves on a virtual beach or meditate in a calming environment. Individuals without mobility can witness the world in a different way through experiences in dynamic surroundings and environments.

The benefits of VR in the medical industry provide high quality simulation, planning, and patient staging, as well as improved capabilities for physicians, such as radiologists and coupling of diagnostic radiology expertise, laparoscopic surgery, nuclear medicine, and radiation therapy (Vosburgh, et al., 2013, p.6). Most notably laparoscopic surgery can be practiced and mastered virtually without the use of real patients (Yiannakopoulou et al., 2015, p. 61). Now, neurosurgery stands as an elective medical procedure (which was not always the case), and currently patients can be out of the hospital in as little as a couple of days. This is greatly due to the advancements in imaging, visualization, and operative techniques (Vosburgh, et al., 2013, p.6), which allow for a better medical understanding of the anatomy and pathology that are the targets of the intervention.

Imagine the virtual possibilities concerning fields such as organic chemistry or microbiology. Author, Steve Bryson (1996) believed scientific visualization was potentially a very fruitful application area for VR and should be pursued aggressively (p. 70). He was right, and advancements have allowed just that. While 90’s technology was primitive by today’s standard, Bryson correctly identified the necessity to utilize VR for scientific study. The capability of visually and physically interacting with an environment of molecules or compounds is groundbreaking. The ability to manipulate such information from different perspectives is certainly the way of the future. Imagine the benefits one gains with the ability to use VR training to prepare for dangerous or jobs or specific detail-oriented tasks.

VR has the potential to revolutionize education, as it immerses students in their learning more than any other available medium (Gadelha, 2018, p. 40). There is an abundance of programs available including interactive games and curriculum consisting of video and animation to create a learning environment free of distraction or interruption (Gadelha, 2018, p. 40-43). The imagination of the student is free to roam, and what was once a predictable classroom setting becomes an adventure in which solving puzzles and answering questions propels students to learn. This mixture of learning while having fun playing a VR game stands to dramatically challenge the constructs of the education process in years to come.

Not long ago, architectural design was conducted out of blueprints and cardboard models. Today we find an entirely different realm of possibility. There are games like Minecraft and Sims which allow users to build a virtual world. Using VR technology, these worlds are becoming more lifelike than ever imagined. Similarly, tasks such as home design and infrastructure planning can be designed and displayed to illustrate ideas. Whether the VR aids in finding that perfect color scheme for the living room or to virtually show development plans in place of a 2-D blueprint, it is merely the evolution of ways of understanding or interpreting information.