Virtual Reality in the Study of the Male Urinary System

The male urinary system has a unique physiology and plays a complex role in the everyday life of the human male body. It can be affected by diverse pathologies which disrupt the normal behaviour of the patient, such as urinary incontinence, benign prostatic hyperplasia and oncological diseases. The common treatment for these pathologies has some outcomes which are not fully understood yet. In this context, virtual reality can become an important tool for both educational and research purposes. The suggested approach, which integrates the Oculus Rift and the Leap Motion devices, allows the user to interact directly with the anatomical structures and manipulate the organs and tissues using its own hands in virtual scenarios, allowing the practise of surgical procedures, viewing the anatomical models from any perspective, including from within the tissues, compare more than one case at the same time or store the temporal evolution of a patient-specific medical case.