Wednesday, 27 September 2023, 9:00 a.m. CET, Zoom-Recording

About Naseem Ahmadpour

Dr Naseem Ahmadpour is a researcher in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and faculty member at the University of Sydney. She leads Affective Interactions lab at the University of Sydney where she is also the program director of a Major in Design. She was awarded her PhD in human-technology interaction from University of Montreal (Ecole Polytechnique), Canada. Her research is interdisciplinary and broadly explores and critiques the role of interactive technologies and personal devices for cultivating meaning making, affective experiences and wellbeing in everyday life. Specifically, she investigates the design, impact and ethical consequences of sociotechnical systems that increasingly shape the future of care.

About the Lecture

As Virtual Reality (VR) technology becomes more readily available to use, new applications emerge in entertainment, education, healthcare and work. Specifically, a range of opportunities has been explored in the space of therapeutic VR, with examples ranging across mental health (e.g. mindfulness, PTSD), rehabilitation (e.g. physiotherapy, exercise), pain management, clinical training and more. While promising, the research and practice in this space bring about new expectations and ethical concerns. Who is afforded access to treatment and care through therapeutic VR? Who is left out due to technology limitations or user disabilities? How do we identify, assess, and communicate risks associated with the therapeutic use of VR in healthcare? And how do these impact the future of care broadly? Drawing on examples from her research and practice, Dr Ahmadpour will examine a number of case studies on therapeutic VR (in cancer treatment, treating freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease, pre-dementia memory assessment) and for different age groups to shed light on opportunities, challenges and stigmas around the use of emerging technologies particularly with vulnerable groups. Relying on the knowledge that care is situated in place, body and culture, this talk will propose a paradigm shift to demonstrate how narratives of care illustrate new directions for responsible approaches to VR in the future of care.

We are pleased to invite you to join this guest lecture. Registration is not required. Please be aware that we will be recording this guest lecture and will be making it available in our teaching library. If you have any questions, please contact Giuliana Breu (giuliana.breu@unisg.ch) prior to the start of the guest lecture. Also note that this guest lecture is part of our Digital Health Forum course.