VR surgical training firms expands with home education modality

FundamentalVR, has expanded its educational platform, Fundamental Surgery, with the addition of a new education modality @HomeVR.

This brings educational simulations accredited by medical professional bodies to standalone VR headsets such as Oculus Quest and HTC Vive Focus Plus.

Already deployed in hospitals around the world, it allows surgeons to experience the same sights, sounds and feeling they would in a real procedure, enabling them to hone and rehearse skills in a safe and measurable environment dovetailing with cadaveric and assisted/observational learning in the operating room. 

The hardware-agnostic software solution can mimic the physical cues of surgical actions, medical tools, and tissue variations. Studies have shown this aids learning in helping trainees develop the muscle memory essential for surgical skills. The platform utilises off-the-shelf hardware (PCs/laptops, VR headset and haptic arms), making it less than a tenth of the cost of current learning practices.

The launch of @HomeVR compliments the education capabilities of the HapticVR modality and expands the platform to provide even more flexible and cost-effective learning opportunities. A user login ensures an experience with the same graphics, education content, and data tracking capabilities across each modality. It fuses Cutaneous (tactile vibration) and Kinesthetics (force feedback & position) haptic technologies in a single platform, optimised for different stages of the learning process.

Richard Vincent, CEO, and co-founder, FundamentalVR, said: "Leveraging low-cost hardware, our multimodal platform allows medical institutions to take advantage of the proven benefits of surgical simulations at scale, and in ways that ensure the consistency of training delivery, and effectiveness of their curriculums. The @HomeVR modality provides a highly mobile and cost-effective way to acquire the knowledge and understanding of the technical skills required to carry out surgical procedures. The HapticVR modality helps students apply and deepen this knowledge while becoming proficient in the skills required to carry out the procedures. Together, they provide a more powerful education platform. No other software platform can do both nor have received CME or CPD accreditation from the America Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of England."

To use @HomeVR, users download simulations to their standalone VR headset and log in with their Fundamental Surgery account details. They can then access the Fundamental Surgery procedure. The procedures available are being phased in for existing customers starting with Total Hip Arthroplasty (Anterior Approach).  

Every user interaction is measured and recorded, such as surgical gaze, respect for tissue and efficiency of movement, widely connected with surgical proficiency, to provide accurate real-time feedback all within a single display that can be accessed anywhere by any device.