We humans are tribal, grouping ourselves by a multitude of criteria: physical, intellectual, political, emotional, etc. The Internet and its auxiliary technologies have enabled a novel dimension in tribal behavior during our recent past. This growing connectivity begs the question: Will individuals and their communities come together to solve some very urgent global problems? At MMVR, we explore ways to harness information technology to solve healthcare problems - and in the industrialized nations we are making progress. In the developing world however, things are more challenging. Massive urban poverty fuels violence and misery. Will global networking bring a convergence of individual and tribal problem-solving? Recently, a barrel-shaped water carrier that rolls along the ground was presented, improving daily life for many people. Also the One Laptop per Child project is a good example of how the industrialized nations can help the developing countries. They produce durable and simple laptops which are inexpensive to produce. At MMVR, we focus on cutting-edge medical technology, which is generally pretty expensive. While the benefits of innovation trickle downward, from the privileged few to the broader masses, we should expand this trickle into a flood. Can breakthrough applications in stimulation, visualization, robotics, and informatics engender tools as ingeniously as the water carrier or laptop? With some extra creativity, we can design better healthcare for the developing world too.

This book provides an innovative international forum for the researchers, developers, and practitioners who are actively expanding the role of electronic technologies in healthcare. The contributions are by pioneers in all aspects of the field: telemedicine, simulation, computer-assisted surgery, haptics, robotics, education, diagnostics, etc. Leading edge developments and current clinical experience are brought together for the purpose of exploring ways to improve medical care. Mental health implications of new electronic technologies are also discussed. This book has a special focus on virtual reality as a means of bringing practitioner and patient closer in the pursuit of healing. Rather than superseding the talents of healthcare professionals, interactive computer-based tools have the ability to enhance the traditional dialogue of care. In addition, these tools can be used to integrate useful qualities of complementary therapies into allopathic medicine. Sight, touch, sound and other senses can be linked and augmented in ways previously unimagined, ultimately to benefit the patient.