Working Group "Personalized Digital Health and Telemedicine"
InVirtuo 4.0
InVirtuo 4.0 establishes the new interdisciplinary research profile of in-virtuo research in intensive cooperation between computer science, media science, cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology researchers. In addition to in-vivo, in-vitro and in-silico methods, in-virtuo experiments in which people interact with virtual environments will enable decisive breakthroughs in experimental research.
InVirtuo 4.0 will address the media, social, and ethical problems associated with this intended paradigm shift from a media science perspective and, through collaboration between the participating disciplines, will have a productive effect on their work on central disciplinary challenges. An essential component is the systematic opening of access to the unique European hardware of the Visual Computing Incubator for the acquisition and creation of digital twins at the University of Bonn.
Supported by colleagues from TU Dortmund University, computer scientists in Bonn will use this to further develop methods for setting up virtual research environments and make them easier for other disciplines. Joint model projects, strengthened by a (self-)reflective media science perspective, will demonstrate the transformative potential of in-virtuo research and thus lay the foundation for collaborative research projects.
Funded by:
Publications
2026
Steininger, Melissa; Jansen, Anna; Müllers, Johannes; von Wrede, Randi; Krüger, Björn
Toward Interpretable Cognitive Screening in Epilepsy: Eye Tracking in a VR Trail Making Test Proceedings ArticleForthcoming
@inproceedings{steininger2026b,
title = {Toward Interpretable Cognitive Screening in Epilepsy: Eye Tracking in a VR Trail Making Test},
author = {Melissa Steininger and Anna Jansen and Johannes Müllers and Randi von Wrede and Björn Krüger},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-03-31},
urldate = {2026-03-31},
booktitle = {IEEE VR 2026 Workshop: GEMINI},
abstract = {Cognitive screening is a routine component of epilepsy care. Established pen-and-paper instruments such as the Trail Making Test (TMT) primarily yield summary outcomes (e.g., completion time) that provide limited insight into visual search and executive-control processes affected by epilepsy-related brain network dysfunction. We present an eye-tracked Virtual Reality TMT (VR-TMT) as a controlled research instrument that enables process-level interpretable measurements. The system synchronizes continuous eye-movement streams with timestamped task events (task start/stop and node selections) and logs gaze-to-Area-of-Interest (AOI) intersections. To reduce VR-specific confounds that can compromise cognitive interpretation, we specify concrete design guidelines for 3D stimulus geometry and the VR+eye-tracking setup (e.g., viewing distance, field-of-view placement, target size).
In a feasibility pilot (n=8) usability ratings were favorable and cybersickness was low. Building on this foundation, we outline an analysis framework that derives contextualized gaze features and evaluates their added value in explaining established cognitive screening outcomes in epilepsy cohorts.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {forthcoming},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Cognitive screening is a routine component of epilepsy care. Established pen-and-paper instruments such as the Trail Making Test (TMT) primarily yield summary outcomes (e.g., completion time) that provide limited insight into visual search and executive-control processes affected by epilepsy-related brain network dysfunction. We present an eye-tracked Virtual Reality TMT (VR-TMT) as a controlled research instrument that enables process-level interpretable measurements. The system synchronizes continuous eye-movement streams with timestamped task events (task start/stop and node selections) and logs gaze-to-Area-of-Interest (AOI) intersections. To reduce VR-specific confounds that can compromise cognitive interpretation, we specify concrete design guidelines for 3D stimulus geometry and the VR+eye-tracking setup (e.g., viewing distance, field-of-view placement, target size).
In a feasibility pilot (n=8) usability ratings were favorable and cybersickness was low. Building on this foundation, we outline an analysis framework that derives contextualized gaze features and evaluates their added value in explaining established cognitive screening outcomes in epilepsy cohorts.
