Virtual reality technology helping medical students pick up skills without exposure to viruses

Somerset, England -- At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, medical students across the globe have been facing a common struggle - how to safely get a hands-on experience. The solution? Get headsets for a hands-on experience. A group of students in southwest England are using virtual reality headsets to get a virtually hands-on experience. This means they learn how to explain diagnoses and treatment plans in a virtual intensive care ward. Using hand-held controllers and large headsets, the students also get to deal with challenging situations, as well as engage with patients and their families, without attending in-person sessions. Not only do the students get to practise medical skills; they also get to interact with computer-generated avatars that respond to humans like Amazon’s Alexa technology, allowing trainee medics to practise “soft” interpersonal skills. The simulation was designed by the British start-up Virti, which also used VR to help train healthcare workers on how to use PPE at the start of the pandemic. /TISG