索尔·罗杰斯

The use cases of virtual reality （VR） expand each day. It never fails to amaze me how powerful and versatile1 the medium is.

Here are just some examples of how this immersive medium is being put to good use.

Raising donations

Inspired by the bravery and courage of the incredible children fighting cancer at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital， VR for Good2， Facebook， and St. Jude came together to create a VR experience that celebrates the real stories of survivors of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Created by BBDO3 and developed by Flight School4， St. Jude Hall of Heroes is intended to help raise donations by giving donors the chance to see where their money goes and the people that it helps. The project uses VR as a storytelling and empathy machine.

The experience is set on floating islands， each island has towering statues （heroism in battle is traditionally marked with a statue） that represent St. Jude patients and their stories. Users can walk up to these statues and hear from the patient about his or her fight against illness.

Relieving pain during childbirth

A small study has suggested that expectant mothers who use a calming virtual reality experience during labor could see their pain levels reduced. In a half-hour test conducted by Dr. Melissa Wong， an obstetrician-gynecologist5 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles， participants were asked to score the pain level of their contractions6 on a scale of 1-10. Those who used the VR headsets with the “Labor Bliss” visualization for up to 30 minutes during contractions reported an average reduction in pain of 0.52， whereas those who didnt wear the headsets experienced a pain increase of 0.58.

While this is a small study， it does pave the way for offering the technology as an alternative to other pain relievers during childbirth.

Training for high-risk situations

Doctors and nurses in the emergency room （ER） work in a high pressure， high-stress environment， which sometimes involves making critical decisions. These emergency， low frequency， high stakes procedures are “life or death” cases and require a highly-skilled， highly experienced doctor. However， because of their relative rarity， the expertise7 needed is difficult to acquire.

Medical professionals have traditionally trained on mannequins8 and cadavers9， however， this method of training cannot fully replicate the other pressures that come into play10 in a real emergency. Two doctors from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles （CHLA） teamed up with AiSolve and Bioflight VR to address this issue， by creating a virtual trauma room11 that more accurately represents how real-life emergencies may play out.

Within the experience， doctors are debriefed12 by the Emergency Medical Technicians （EMTs） on the patients condition， then they have to check vital signs， assess medication and carry out the best course of action. This is all done under a time constraint—as with a real emergency—so it requires doctors to focus and keep calm under pressure. This training tool enables trainee doctors13 to prepare for the real thing， without the fear of failure and its consequences.

Educating on racial bias

REM5， a virtual reality Lab in St Louis Park， Minnesota is using the power of immersive technology to allow students， teachers， artists， and community groups explore subjects such as racial and gender bias.

Amir Berenjian， the Co-Founder of REM5， explained， “We want to use virtual reality for good. We dont ever want to view VR as a solution， but rather as a tool for this work. The real work comes when the headset comes off.”

As part of diversity and inclusion training， REM5 put around 800 Cargill employees through the New York Times 360-degree video documentary， “Traveling While Black”. The documentary gives users an immersive experience on the challenges black people in America still face to this day. Viewers are taken on an emotional journey where they meet various African Americans and hear their first-hand experiences with racism， told through interviews and poetic cinematic recreations.

Feedback from users has been very encouraging， with many noting how much more impactful it is to experience a documentary in 360-degrees， rather than simply watching it on a TV screen.

Breaking barriers in the transgender community

Authentically Us—the first documentary VR series from Facebook and Oculus—allows viewers to step into the lives of three transgender activists who are smashing glass ceilings14 and taking action to make communities safer for LGBTQ+ people15 everywhere. Users follow Aiden Crawford， Shannon Scott， and Acton Seibel in a 360-degree video as they campaign to change legislation， raise awareness， and challenge politics.

Over three episodes， viewers come face to face with the everyday challenges a transgender person faces to live free and equal， through the viewpoints of three transgender identities： transmasculine， transfeminine and gender non-binary16.

Authentically Us has， at its core， a powerful message： those who identify outside of the gender binary are everyday people who have always been a part of our communities.

虚拟现实（VR）的应用案例与日俱增，这种功能强大、用途广泛的工具总能让我感到惊奇。

以下介绍几个利用这种沉浸式媒介的正面案例。

募捐

圣祖德儿童研究医院中一群了不起的孩子在抗癌中表现得勇敢无畏，受此启发，VR for Good、脸书和圣祖德医院联合创建了一款VR场景体验，歌颂这些患癌儿童及其他致命疾病幸存者的真实故事。

为了帮助募捐，由BBDO制作、Flight School开发的名为“圣祖德英雄堂”的VR场景体验，给捐款人提供了一种途径，让他们能够清楚捐款的流向和所帮助的人。该项目利用VR进行故事叙述，激发人们产生共情。

该VR体验的场景设在浮岛上，每座岛上都有数座高耸的雕像（通常用来纪念战场上的英勇表现），代表着圣祖德医院的患儿和他们的故事。用户可以走近这些雕像并倾听他们的抗病历程。

减轻分娩的疼痛

一项小型研究表明，临产孕妇在分娩时使用具有镇定作用的VR场景体验，可以减轻疼痛。梅利莎·王是位于洛杉矶的西达赛奈医疗中心的一名妇产科医生，她组织了一项半小时的测验，其间，要求参与者对自己宫缩的疼痛程度进行打分，分值1至10。结果显示，在宫缩期间，佩戴配备《生产的幸福》可视化场景的VR頭盔达30分钟的人，疼痛平均减轻了0.52，而那些未佩戴头盔的人感受到的疼痛增加了0.58。

尽管这是一项小型研究，但它确实能推动VR技术应用于分娩，使其作为其他止痛方案的替代选择。

针对高风险情境的培训

急诊室的医生和护士在高压力、高度紧张的环境中工作，有时需要做出一些重大判断。……