Virtual Emergency Medical Technician-Basic Training Program

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall aim for this Small Business Innovative Research project is to develop and evaluate a web-based 3D interactive Virtual Emergency Medical Technician-Basic Training Program. ArchieMD's goal is to develop a prod uct that will use 3D interactive visualizations and a virtual patient simulator to teach Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) concepts required for certification and continuing education. The proposed product will combine 3-D computer graphics and gaming tec hnology to provide an inquiry-based, non-linear, immersive learning environment for EMT training. The program will be designed to improve EMT certification rates, increase knowledge by EMTs, reduce training costs, and enable effective distribution of train ing. Phase I of this SBIR project will focus on developing a prototype of five EMT training modules and conducting a pilot evaluation. The evaluation will be conducted by the Center for Emergency Medicine. Phase II will focus on building out the full curri culum to cover EMT-Basic certification and performing a definitive evaluation of its efficacy in a large study. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The product will impact public health by improving availability, quality. and cost of EMT training.