Online tool developed to train frontline staff to ventilate patients

FundamentalVR, a company that specialises in immersive medical education, has announced initiatives with the NHS and US medical providers that aim to help frontline professionals care for patients during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The dramatic rise in demand for ventilators caused by COVID-19 has led healthcare providers to rapidly redeploy doctors and nurses from other disciplines as well as ask professionals to come out of retirement to support the ICU.

To help medical staff (re)acquire the skills to ventilate COVID-19 patients, FundamentalVR, has worked with Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust to develop an online tool that allows medical professionals to gain the key knowledge they need for ventilating patients in just 30 minutes. This system is live in the UK and available in the US. 

The project was led from Imperial by Professor Ara Darzi, co-director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. The training program, which consists of short how-to videos and educational graphics, is now in use at Imperial College London and is available to any international healthcare provider to help combat COVID-19.

Professor Darzi said: “It takes years to specialise a clinician in intensive care; while this new training course is not designed to replace this expertise, it will enable health systems across the world to act now and provide the care that their patients desperately need. With greater capacity, we can help more people survive this illness, and prevent health systems from becoming overwhelmed during this crisis.”

Richard Vincent, CEO and co-founder of FundamentalVR, added: "When COVID-19 struck we were delighted to work with the team at Imperial College London on the rapid development of this important Ventilator Trainer and are pleased to see it roll out to help build confidence and competence with Healthcare professionals at this challenging time. We are in awe of the NHS teams and all that they do and we are honoured to have played a small part in the solution."

FundamentalVR has also added a new multiuser capability to Fundamental Surgery, which lets unlimited users enter a single virtual OR from multiple locations and undergo a surgical procedure together step-by-step. This provides students and residents with the same collaborative experience they would have during an in-person training session where they can take turns practicing skills and speak directly with their instructors.