On July 21, 22, and 23, 2025, the School of Civil Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV) hosted the workshop Virtual Reality at the Service of Health, a free in-person training event that brought together 17 health professionals from different regions of the country.
The activity was organized by the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, the University of Las Américas (UDLA), and MICARE, to offer an applied introduction to immersive technologies and their use in clinical, educational, and community contexts. Over three days, participants explored the fundamentals of virtual reality, learned about its applications in health, experimented with devices, and learned how to adapt technological tools to improve person-centered care.
The course was taught by an interdisciplinary teaching team composed of our principal investigator and PUCV professor, Felipe Muñoz La Rivera; MICARE junior researcher and UDLA professor, Izaskun Álvarez Aguado; MICARE principal investigator and PUCV director of inclusion, Vanessa Vega Córdova; Sofía Montecinos (PUCV) and Jennifer Figueroa (UDLA). The team guided the learning process from their respective areas of expertise, combining short classes, discussion spaces, practical navigation of applications, and analysis of real cases, ending with a day of evaluation and feedback.
Attendees particularly appreciated the practical and contextualized approach of the course. Sebastián Vera, a physical therapist at the Olmué Rehabilitation Center, said: “I thought the course was very good because it also allows us to experiment with technologies that are generally not widely available in rural areas.” Pablo Cárdenas, a physical therapist and head of the Local Support and Care Network Program in Los Muermos, said, “We are leaving with many strategies and tools to intervene and meet therapeutic goals based on virtual reality.” Finally, Fresia Mancilla, a psychologist from the same program, added: “I found it very interesting to apply it in the region where we are… interesting to apply it to older adults at a cognitive level and to children.”
The course ended with the presentation of certificates to those who completed the modules, leaving them motivated to continue exploring the responsible and creative use of virtual reality in the field of health, with a focus on accessibility, ethics, and the well-being of users.
Credits: Felipe Muñoz La Rivera and Jennifer Figueroa.