Hands-On Virtual Reality Technology for Clinical Education and Training

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary Hands-on training is a widely accepted methodology for training. This is especially true for learning clinical procedures as they can be complicated and difficult to master without proper training. Virtu al Reality (VR) based training systems can be highly successful in training operators because they can be accessed anytime anywhere as a refresher without the need for a trainer, can simulate various scenarios, can objectively monitor a trainee's performan ce and provide feedback. Yantric Inc proposes to develop a comprehensive hands-on virtual reality based system for clinical education and training, which is a priority for the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). In this phase I effort, we will d evelop a central venous catheter insertion trainer with ultrasound guidance as these procedures are being increasingly performed in a wide variety of scenarios. Yantric has vast experience in developing medical simulation systems and we will take full adva ntage of our existing hardware and software architecture for the design and development of this system. At the end of this Phase I effort the system will consist of the following key components. (1) A medical simulation and training system for the infracla vicular central venous catheter insertion procedure with ultrasound guidance. (2) General user interface and didactic content presentation: Browser based, developed with HTML / CSS, with support for didactic content presentation. (3) 3D Anatomical Viewer a nd Interactive simulation application (4) A customized box containing a haptic interface that allows the user to insert real instruments, including needles, guide wires and catheters into the device. (5) An ultrasound simulation module, integrated with a 6 DOF position and orientation sensor embedded within a mock ultrasound probe. In terms of commercial potential, there is a large demand for the proposed VR based central venous catheter insertion procedure. There is an increasing number of such procedures b eing performed by surgeons and interventional radiologists and is a complex enough procedure that there is a strong demand for a good training simulator. Once our training system is developed it can be installed en masse at educational facilities, medical institutions, hospitals, urgent care or health care centers, clinics, laboratories, and radiology centers.