VR ICU Upskilling for Health Professionals is a training in the Metaverse through Virtual Reality glasses for more than 20,000 doctors and nurses from all over Europe developed in co-creation by Mediconed and Immersium Studio. Its main objective is to train health professionals who do not usually work in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) to reinforce European ICUs in times of need.
PEDAGOGICAL IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
The pedagogical objectives of this experience demand expert knowledge in intensive care medicine. To ensure maximum scientific and pedagogical rigor, Immersium Studio have co-created and co-designed this experience together with the Mediconed team.
The Virtual Reality (VR) experience is divided into three parts:
VR Tour: hospital facilities guided tour (Central Control Tower, Medical Doctor Room, ICU Patient Room) that ends with an Exploration Tour (in 360 space) that allows you to see all the equipment, instruments and medical devices necessary to provide support in the ICUs. You can explore that space quietly and familiarize yourself at your own pace with each of the processes and equipment devices.
Master case 1 and Master Case 2: Two practical clinical cases where the user will meet a patient admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. In one case, it is a patient with severe Covid-19, in serious condition, in which you face serious and extreme difficulties in an experiential way. In the other case, a patient also with Covid-19, but not as serious, in which you have more room for maneuver, and could also gain more confidence. The user will be present at the patient admission, will participate in the daily routines that must be practiced, and finally will have to deal with two troubleshootings (Ventilation and Hemodynamic).
Throughout these cases, the contents that are worked are:
- Introduction to the ICU
- Personal safety (putting on and taking off PPE in COVID-19 times)
- The ICU patient: general aspects and admission sequence
- Respiratory support basics
- Hemodynamic monitoring basic concepts
- Sepsis and infections
- ICU care other aspects
- Equipment care
EUROPEAN PROJECT
Through the Covid-19 health crisis, ICUs have been seriously affected at some key moments. The pandemic has required 30-40% increase in ICU beds. This great training project was launched with the aim of forming what the European Commission calls the “healthcare army” in European public hospitals, to have more hands trained and prepared for possible sudden COVID-19 outbreaks.
Funded by the European Commission, this training is aimed at professionals from the 27 member European Union (EU) countries and the United Kingdom. It is available in the 23 EU official languages. With it, more than 20,000 health professionals have been trained throughout Europe.
Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, stated that the European Commission decision to bet on this immersive training demonstrates the commitment by
“Support frontline healthcare workers across Europe by providing essential medical training to ensure they are fully equipped with the skills to help in the specialist ICU environment in times of crisis“
Jozef Kesecioglu, president of ESICM (European Society of Intensive Medicine), declared
“Now we know what awaits us and we are working together with ICU doctors and nurses, as well as other health professionals and political actors in the European Union, to contain the virus and provide the best possible care to all EU citizens. in all member states. Together we will prepare Europe for the next COVID-19 wave”
FILMING IN MILAN
A team of more than 30 people has participated in the VR ICU Upskilling for Health Professionals filming: cameras, directors, 360 experts, Virtual Reality experts, quality experts, healthcare simulation engineers, doctors and nurses from throughout Europe (who have carried out a double role as actors/actresses and as advisers).
Three locations have been used to enrich the experience and provide it with realism and maximum pedagogical rigor: Humanitas Research Hospital real ICU; the Milan Humanitas University Mario Luzzatto Simulation Center; and the Emergency Hospital 19, a center specialized in health care for the COVID-19 crisis.
In this interwiew, Immersium Studio’s CEO, Luis Villarejo, explains in person how the recordings went and the teamwork importance to mobilize a large number of people.
AUGGIE AWARD 2021
Immersium Studio’s VR ICU Upskilling for Health Professionals project has received the Best Healthcare VR Solution at Auggie Awards 2021.
The Auggie Awards are the most recognized awards in AR and VR in the industry worldwide since 2010. They show the best of the best in Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, in different categories. The Auggie Awards Ceremony took place on November 10, 2021 in Santa Clara, California, at the AWE USA 2021 event.
COMPANY: Immersium Studio
