Para-Sight: An Interactive Virtual Reality Application Exploring the Infection Mechanism Employed by Plasmodium Falciparum

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) impact millions globally, constituting a sixth of worldwide illnesses, mainly afflicting Asia, South America, and Africa. These diseases lead to widespread death and disability, emphasizing the ongoing necessity for funding drug deployment and vaccine research and development. This requirement will increase, emphasizing the importance of public, private, and government awareness. To address the growing need for understanding, interactive digital tools can enhance learning and public engagement. Interactive applications have been shown to be valuable in promoting knowledge acquisition and public engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These tools have notably enhanced learning outcomes and fostered learners’ confidence, especially when tackling intricate subjects, such as molecular biology, immunology, and parasitology. Virtual reality (VR) enables users to immerse themselves in diverse and otherwise unreachable environments. This capability renders VR especially apt for revealing the invisible world of parasites. VR is particularly suitable for public engagement events, offering an otherworldly experience within a short timeframe and with minimal other necessary props. This research designed and developed an interactive VR application tool for public engagement in collaboration with the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology. The interactive VR app displayed promising usability and perceived presence when tested with eight participants. Limitations of user testing included low diversity and limited participant numbers. Despite this, the application shows promise as a valuable tool for public engagement. Additional user testing would be necessary to gain further insights into potential improvements, involving a wide cohort of participants and collecting additional qualitative and quantitative data to statistically analyze the validity of the application as an engagement tool.