Open Doors at Saxon Ministries

Together with Dresden University Hospital, TUD Dresden University of Technology | Faculty of Medicine, and the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden, the EKFZ presented research and clinical innovation from across Dresden University Medicine. At the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism, visitors could explore several exhibits highlighting technologies and research that are already shaping the future of medicine.

At the EKFZ booth, visitors could put their courage to the test at extreme heights or come face to face with virtual spiders. Florian Schier, research associate at the TUD Immersive Experience Lab (IXLAB) and associated with CeTi, together with Lorenz Hoffmann, Ruben Pratzka and Hannes Reinhold wowed visitors with a multi-user mixed-reality experience. Unlike conventional VR exposure therapy, which typically immerses one person in a virtual environment, the ViewR-based approach is designed to make extended reality a shared experience. This idea was explored in the VRAD project, which investigated how therapists and patients could experience virtual exposure scenarios together, potentially reducing the sense of isolation associated with VR and bringing the setting closer to in-vivo exposure therapy. The work has since evolved beyond the original psychotherapy use case. The team is now developing multi-user mixed-reality applications for research prototypes and demonstrators across a broader range of scenarios.