Medicine is one area where immersive technology such as virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) are having a significant impact. The technology is being used in a variety of ways, including distracting patients from pain, or teaching people about complex medical issues. One of the most significant, however, is the use of VR to train doctors, such as the newly developed VR surgical training tool from Laduma.
Laduma is an immersive tech consultancy which has been working with Dr Harish Manyam of the Erlanger Heart Lung Institute to create a custom 360-degree VR experience of a S-ICD procedure, a procedure which is performed on patients at risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Ben Smith, CEO of Laduma, said: “Working with Erlanger Health System has shown us all how important it is for medical staff to be properly trained when it comes to performing complex life-saving operations. By filming Dr. Manyam as he carried out the operation with several cameras, our crew was able to capture previously unseen details. The finished 360° Virtual Reality experience is a breakthrough for medical training.”
The VR experience will be delivered to doctors around the world as part of ongoing training in new procedures. The VR experience allows doctors to get a full 360-degree view of the process as if they were standing alongside Dr Manyam in the operating theatre.
“It means doctors in remote parts of the world can be trained better than ever before and save even more lives,” Continued Ben Smith, “Boston Scientific is one of the world’s premier medical device companies and Erlanger Health Systems is known as a leader in healthcare so we were honoured to work with them.”
“As the region’s only academic center, training clinical teams in innovative therapies is a core value of the Heart & Lung Institute team. As the Electrophysiology program leader, having the opportunity to share what we are doing in Chattanooga, TN is exciting”, says Dr. Harish Manyam.
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