The Society of Interventional Radiology debuted the first-ever virtual reality (VR) 360-degree training video for interventional radiology in practice at the recent SIR’s Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles.
The one-hour long multisegment movie was a special project of its peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR) and its pioneering editor-in-chief, Ziv J Haskal, M.D., FSIR, a professor with the department of radiology and medical imaging at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville.
The VR training video shows Haskal and his colleagues at the University of Virginia Health System performing a TIPS procedure where they create new blood vessel within the liver using tiny catheters, balloons and stents under image guidance.
“Interventional radiology has always been on the forefront of modern medicine and VR360 is the cutting-edge of medical simulation, so this project embodies the innovative spirit of our specialty,” said Haskal. “We took one of the hardest procedures we perform and created an all-enveloping, in-the-room VR film allowing an operating physician to return to any complex segment they wish for learning, review and perspective.”
Premiering at the Extreme IR session at SIR 2018, session attendees were given VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) in order to experience the video and become immersed in the procedure. With treatment for interventional radiology and other medical areas continuing to develop rapidly, using the technology available such as used here allows for more details and realistic training material.
“VR is a force multiplier, providing expert training to physicians around the world, those wishing to refresh their skills or gain confidence for delivering care in environments where clinician experts cannot provide them in-room training,” Haskal said.
Haskal is already planning the next VR projects to educate patients, trainees and attending physicians about interventional radiology and leverage VR to make it as beneficial to the viewer as possible. A small segment of the one-hour long video is available to watch below.
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