Holographic Patients To Help Train The Next Generation Of Medics

Just as case studies are the bedrock of management education, simulations are central to the training of doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. The idea is to give staff access to realistic scenarios to hone their skills before being set loose on real-world patients.

One of the more advanced facilities in this domain is the “simulation hospital” operated by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland. The facility contains a fully equipped, standards-compliant simulation hospital complete with ambulances, delivery rooms, an intensive care unit, and even a reception area, with the aim being to provide medical students with a realistic environment to develop their skills.

“In simulation exercises, all of the students’ senses are really used when assessing the treatment situation; sight, hearing, touch, and smell,” Minna Elomaa-Krapu, Innovation Director at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences says. “What does the patient look like? Are the limbs cold or hot? Does the breath smell of acetone or alcohol and what does the patient’s pulse feels like?”

Mixed reality

The Metropolia facility is very much grounded in the real world, and participants have to be physically on-site to enjoy the benefits. This is not the case with the new facility developed by Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) in partnership with the Faculty of Education at the university, which aims to utilize “mixed reality” to enhance medical training.

The aim of the project is to provide high-level, consistent, and relevant clinical training to students and practitioners from around the world. The project, which is known as HoloScenarios, offers students life-like holographic scenarios, with the first developed by the team on common respiratory conditions and emergencies.

“Mixed reality is increasingly recognized as a useful method of simulator training,” the Cambridge team explains. “As institutions scale procurement, the demand for platforms that offer utility and ease of mixed reality learning management is rapidly expanding.”

Has the time come?

Obviously, the metaverse has been one of the buzzwords of the last twelve months, but such approaches are not a new thing. For instance, in 2017 medical equipment company Stryker worked with Microsoft’s HoloLens to develop a VR solution for use in training surgeons and other operating theater staff.

Whereas previous examples of VR/AR in surgery have revolved around the organ itself, the Stryker example focused on the room the operation will be conducted in. Depending on the surgical procedure required, a great deal of work is required to reorganize the room so that it’s suitable for the operation. Different tools, equipment, lighting, and even patient orientation are required.

Traditionally this would be undertaken after a meeting between the heads of each surgical discipline, and the discussions will be done in a very two-dimensional way. Stryker wanted to improve that by allowing staff to see 3D representations of the room and move its features around virtually.

“Using HoloLens and Stryker’s new By Design solution, hospital stakeholders are now able to envision the ideal operating room configuration with the power of holograms and the benefit of mixed reality,” the team explained.

Mixed success

Unfortunately, it’s not all that clear that the tool really took off. The Cambridge team has returned with their own solution, which is also based on the HoloLens, in the hope of securing more traction today. The team explains that users are able to see both the other people in the same room as them while also being able to engage with medically accurate and multi-layered holographic patients.

They believe this provides a unique environment for both learning and practicing vital procedures and real-time decision-making. The setting also allows for instructors to both provide feedback to learners as well as change the responses of the patient, introduce various complications, and also record the observations of the learners. The virtual nature of this process means they can also do this from anywhere in the world via the web.

Each session is also recorded so that learners can watch and contribute to the patient scenarios, with access available via apps on both iOS and Android. The team believes that this ensures that realistic and safe immersive learning environments are now available wherever people happen to be in the world.

Supporting learning

“Our research is aimed at uncovering how such simulations can best support learning and accelerate the adoption of effective mixed reality training while informing ongoing development,” they explain.

“We hope that it will help guide institutions in implementing mixed reality into their curricula, in the same way, institutions evaluate conventional resources, such as textbooks, manikins, models or computer software, and, ultimately, improve patient outcomes.”

While the initial deployment includes a holographic asthma patient, there are already patients developed with pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and anaphylaxis, with modules in development for cardiology and neurology.

Whether conducting simulations in real life or in a virtual environment, there is clearly a need for a more flexible and cost-effective means of providing medical education.

“I think it’s more about when and at what stage of teaching different methods are used,” Elomaa-Krapu concludes. “I believe that the use of both pedagogical methods at different stages of the studies produces the best results.”