Project description:BackgroundInadequate collaboration in healthcare can lead to medical errors, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork training. Virtual reality (VR) simulation-based training presents a promising, cost-effective approach. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) for assessing healthcare student teams in VR environments to improve training methodologies.MethodsForty-two medical and nursing students participated in a VR-based neurological emergency scenario as part of an interprofessional team training program. Their performances were assessed using a modified TEAM tool by two trained coders. Reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the tool were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha.ResultsRater agreement on TEAM's leadership, teamwork, and task management domains was high, with ICC values between 0.75 and 0.90. Leadership demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.90), while teamwork and task management showed moderate to acceptable consistency (alpha = 0.78 and 0.72, respectively). Overall, the TEAM tool exhibited high internal consistency (alpha = 0.89) and strong concurrent validity with significant correlations to global performance ratings.ConclusionThe TEAM tool proved to be a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating team dynamics in VR-based training scenarios. This study highlights VR's potential in enhancing medical education, especially in remote or distanced learning contexts. It demonstrates a dependable approach for team performance assessment, adding value to VR-based medical training. These findings pave the way for more effective, accessible interdisciplinary team assessments, contributing significantly to the advancement of medical education.
Project description:Virtual reality (VR) is a potentially challenging social environment for effective communication and collaboration. Thus, we conducted a VR study to determine whether increased familiarity with a teammate would improve performance on a joint decision making task. Specifically, because attitude familiarity, or knowledge of another person's attitudes, has been correlated with better relationship functioning in the past, we anticipated that team performance would improve when teammates were first asked to discuss their task-relevant attitudes with one another. We also hypothesized that increased familiarity would be particularly useful in immersive VR, where typical social and other nonverbal cues were lacking. Twenty pairs recruited from a workplace environment were randomly assigned to either the Familiar or Control condition before completing a joint decision making task both in VR and on desktop monitors. The manipulation of attitude familiarity was successful: pairs in the Familiar condition were significantly more aware of their partners' unique task-relevant attitudes. Results found that in VR, Familiar pairs were more accurate at determining patterns to events. Additionally, for teams less experienced in VR, Familiar pairs were also more accurate at predicting future events. However, there was no meaningful statistical difference in pairs' ability to identify information. Familiar teams also took more time to answer questions, and we found no difference in self-reported communication quality. Overall, this was the first successful manipulation of attitude familiarity and results indicate that such an intervention may prove useful in a collaborative work environment, as Familiar teams demonstrated greater accuracy, especially in VR.
Project description:BackgroundAwake craniotomy (AC) with brain mapping for language and motor functions is often performed for tumors within or adjacent to eloquent brain regions. However, other important functions, such as vision and visuospatial and social cognition, are less frequently mapped, at least partly due to the difficulty of defining tasks suitable for the constrained AC environment.ObjectiveThe aim of this retrospective study was to demonstrate, through illustrative cases, how a virtual reality headset (VRH) equipped with eye tracking can open up new possibilities for the mapping of language, the visual field and complex cognitive functions in the operating room.MethodsVirtual reality (VR) tasks performed during 69 ACs were evaluated retrospectively. Three types of VR tasks were used: VR-DO80 for language evaluation, VR-Esterman for visual field assessment and VR-TANGO for the evaluation of visuospatial and social functions.ResultsSurgery was performed on the right hemisphere for 29 of the 69 ACs performed (42.0%). One AC (1.5%) was performed with all three VR tasks, 14 ACs (20.3%) were performed with two VR tasks and 54 ACs (78.3%) were performed with one VR task. The median duration of VRH use per patient was 15.5 min. None of the patients had "VR sickness". Only transitory focal seizures of no consequence and unrelated to VRH use were observed during AC. Patients were able to perform all VR tasks. Eye tracking was functional, enabling the medical team to analyze the patients' attention and exploration of the visual field of the VRH directly.ConclusionsThis preliminary experiment shows that VR approaches can provide neurosurgeons with a way of investigating various functions, including social cognition during AC. Given the rapid advances in VR technology and the unbelievable sense of immersion provided by the most recent devices, there is a need for ongoing reflection and discussions of the ethical and methodological considerations associated with the use of these advanced technologies in AC and brain mapping procedures.
Project description:PurposeIn this work, a virtual environment for interprofessional team training in laparoscopic surgery is proposed. Our objective is to provide a tool to train and improve intraoperative communication between anesthesiologists and surgeons during laparoscopic procedures.MethodsAn anesthesia simulation software and laparoscopic simulation software are combined within a multi-user virtual reality (VR) environment. Furthermore, two medical training scenarios for communication training between anesthesiologists and surgeons are proposed and evaluated. Testing was conducted and social presence was measured. In addition, clinical feedback from experts was collected by following a think-aloud protocol and through structured interviews.ResultsOur prototype is assessed as a reasonable basis for training and extensive clinical evaluation. Furthermore, the results of testing revealed a high degree of exhilaration and social presence of the involved physicians. Valuable insights were gained from the interviews and the think-aloud protocol with the experts of anesthesia and surgery that showed the feasibility of team training in VR, the usefulness of the system for medical training, and current limitations.ConclusionThe proposed VR prototype provides a new basis for interprofessional team training in surgery. It engages the training of problem-based communication during surgery and might open new directions for operating room training.
Project description:50,000 cells were injected orthotopically into the inguinal fat pad of a Nod-Scid-Gamma (NSG) immuno-compromised mouse. Injected cells were 80% unlabelled 4T1 cells (parental population), and 20% ZsGreen-labelled 4T1-T cells (clone isolated in Wagenblast et Al, Nature, 2015). Tumour were allowed to develop for 20 days, and then collected during necropsy. Disaggegated cells were processed through the 10X genomics Single Cell 3' gene expression pipeline. This data is intended as an example dataset for a novel virtual reality viewer for single-cell data described in Bressan et Al, Nat. Cancer, 2021 (submitted)
Project description:BackgroundEffective interprofessional teamwork is vital for ensuring high-quality patient care, especially in emergency medicine. However, interprofessional education often fails to facilitate meaningful interaction among health care disciplines. It is therefore imperative to afford early opportunities for cultivating interprofessional teamwork skills. While in-person simulation-based training has been shown to improve performance, this is resource-intensive, especially if it involves multiple professions. Virtual reality (VR)-based training is an innovative instructional approach that demands fewer resources and offers the flexibility of location-independent learning.ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop and evaluate the acceptance, learning outcome, and feasibility of an interprofessional team (INTEAM) training course that included a VR simulation of a neurological emergency case.MethodsThis 1-group study used a pre- and posttest design to evaluate the 2-hour INTEAM training course for nursing and medical students. The course included an e-learning part, VR simulation, and debriefing. The main learning objectives were derived from the entrustable professional activity 6, namely to handle a common problem in emergency medicine (headache due to subarachnoid hemorrhage and epileptic seizure) that requires interprofessional collaboration, including a structured handover. We used validated and self-constructed questionnaires, pre- and posttests, and open questions to assess the acceptance, learning outcome, and feasibility of the course.ResultsThe data of 42 students (21 nursing and 21 medical students) were analyzed and showed good usability in the System Usability Scale (median 72.5, IQR 65-80). The perception of usefulness (median 6, IQR 5.8-6.9) and ease of use (median 5.9, IQR 5.1-6.3) was good among all students. There was a significant increase in the handover performance from pre- (median 8, IQR 6-9) to posttraining (median 8, IQR 7-9; z=-2.01; P=.045; r=0.33) and of the confidence in caring for patients with seizures (median 3, IQR 2-3 and median 3.5, IQR 3-4, respectively; z=-3.8; P<.001; r=0.60). In 67% (14/21) of the simulations, technical issues occurred, but all simulations could be carried out completely.ConclusionsThe new INTEAM training course was well received by nursing and medical students. The handover skills and confidence in caring for patients with seizures were improved after the course. Despite technical challenges with the VR simulations, none required termination, and this demonstrates that our approach is feasible. These promising results encourage the use of VR simulations for team training in the education of nursing and medical students.
Project description:•Immersive Learning Experience: The AI-assisted VR module enables learners to engage in a 360-degree immersive environment, manipulating holographic anatomy models and simulating fluoroscopic guidance to perform the Gasserian ganglion block.•Anatomical Precision: Key anatomical landmarks, like the foramen ovale, are highlighted, and proper C-arm positioning is demonstrated, helping practitioners localize the target area for needle advancement.•Multilingual and Multiple-Choice Support: The module includes AI-driven multi-language options and AI-generated multiple-choice questions to enhance learning and retention.•Global Scalability: The proof of concept highlights the potential for scalable, remote learning solutions that integrate AI for ease of development and adaptation across diverse training environments worldwide.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Interprofessional team training is needed to improve nurse-physician communication skills that are lacking in clinical practice. Using simulations has proven to be an effective learning approach for team training. Yet, it has logistical constraints that call for the exploration of virtual environments in delivering team training. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to evaluate a team training program using virtual reality vs conventional live simulations on medical and nursing students' communication skill performances and teamwork attitudes. METHODS:In June 2018, the authors implemented nurse-physician communication team training using communication tools. A randomized controlled trial study was conducted with 120 undergraduate medical and nursing students who were randomly assigned to undertake team training using virtual reality or live simulations. The participants from both groups were tested on their communication performances through team-based simulation assessments. Their teamwork attitudes were evaluated using interprofessional attitude surveys that were administered before, immediately after, and 2 months after the study interventions. RESULTS:The team-based simulation assessment revealed no significant differences in the communication performance posttest scores (P=.29) between the virtual and simulation groups. Both groups reported significant increases in the interprofessional attitudes posttest scores from the baseline scores, with no significant differences found between the groups over the 3 time points. CONCLUSIONS:Our study outcomes did not show an inferiority of team training using virtual reality when compared with live simulations, which supports the potential use of virtual reality to substitute conventional simulations for communication team training. Future studies can leverage the use of artificial intelligence technology in virtual reality to replace costly human-controlled facilitators to achieve better scalability and sustainability of team-based training in interprofessional education. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04330924; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04330924.
Project description:The need for treatment strategies targeting complex structural heart and obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease (CAD) is rapidly growing. The demographics in referral centers has shifted to an older population with greater co-morbidities and higher risk. Indeed, nearly one quarter of patients in tertiary-care settings have moderate or severe valvular heart disease, and despite a decrease in overall CAD burden in the United States over the past two decades the prevalence of myocardial infarction remains high. The 2019 societal scientific sessions included novel research and landmark presentations on less invasive valvular and safer complex coronary interventions in the aforementioned populations, in hopes of improving patient outcomes and expanding treatment indications. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), percutaneous mitral and tricuspid valve therapy, and complex coronary interventions, were the focus of important clinical trials and registry data. Herein, we provide a select and concise review of the most pivotal studies presented.
Project description:Virtual reality (VR) technology plays a significant role in many biomedical applications. These VR scenarios increase the valuable experience of tasks requiring great accuracy with human subjects. Unfortunately, commercial VR controllers have large positioning errors in a micro-manipulation task. Here, we propose a VR-based framework along with a sensor fusion algorithm to improve the microposition tracking performance of a microsurgical tool. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of Kalman filter in a millimeter scale VR environment, by using the position data between the VR controller and an inertial measuring device. This study builds and tests two cases: (1) without sensor fusion tracking and (2) location tracking with active sensor fusion. The static and dynamic experiments demonstrate that the Kalman filter can provide greater precision during micro-manipulation in small scale VR scenarios.