MedVR VR & AR Symposium and Hackathon in Healthcare
- giraffeman
- Aug 30, 2020
- 2 min read
Virtual, August 2020
This was my first time being invited as a panelist, hosted by MedVR alongside Boston University School of Medicine and UMass Medical School. The panel was moderated by Irena Cronin (co-author of The Infinite Retina) and included Dr. Okeanis Vaou, a neurologist specializing in movement disorders, and Julie LeMoine, a technologist and PhD candidate working at the intersection of XR and healthcare. Together we covered spatial computing in healthcare from three different angles: clinical, research, and regulatory. You can watch the full recording here.
On the regulatory side, I talked about how the FDA approaches testing XR technology. Early evaluation focused on the device itself, without accounting for human perceptual aspects, but the sheer variability across XR applications and headsets makes automated testing difficult. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Each application gets evaluated case-by-case based on its specific characteristics, intended use, and associated risks, and while the FDA does consider predicates for similar applications, the range of XR use cases still calls for tailored evaluation.
I also shared an update on my own research into the optical properties of XR devices, including work on a multi-omnidirectional VR treadmill and augmented microscopes. A recurring theme was characterizing chromatic aberrations across different headsets, since understanding these optical inconsistencies is critical to keeping XR applications accurate and consistent, especially in medical contexts.
A behind-the-scenes note: even though the panel was framed as unscripted, the FDA wasn't about to let a brand-new fellow speak off the cuff and risk misrepresenting the Agency. Ahead of time, I had to get the moderator's planned questions, draft out all of my potential responses, and get everything cleared by my supervisor and other higher-ups — then stick to it on camera while still trying to sound candid. It was a good exercise in learning how to communicate on behalf of an agency, and I appreciated the guidance I got along the way, as well as the opportunity itself.
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