A new virtual reality concept called the ‘mediverse’ is being developed by Goggleminds with the help of tech specialists at the University of South Wales (USW).
The Goggleminds concept mirrors situations that medics are likely to be facing when doing their training, without the need to test their skills on real people.
While Goggleminds looks at developing systems to prepare medics for operating on patients of all ages, the experts at the USW-based Centre of Excellence in Mobile and Emerging Technologies (CEMET) have been working closely with the company to develop a system which focuses specifically on treating children.
Goggleminds is run by Cardiff-based entrepreneur Azize Naji. The holder of two degrees and a master’s in occupational health, safety and wellbeing, he has previously worked for the NHS as a health, safety and wellbeing practitioner.
Goggleminds is already working with a number of healthcare professionals and medical students in NHS providers and Universities in England and Wales and has created a library of simulations. It is from here that the idea of the ‘mediverse’ was born.
Azize Naji said, “You might have heard of ‘metaverse’, a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users. We’ve taken it one step further with the ‘mediverse’.
“It’s a medical digital platform to allow healthcare professionals and medical students to learn and connect with one another nationally and internationally.
“Through the CEMET project we really wanted to focus on and home in on paediatrics. When specialists are learning about treating children there are more challenges than when dealing with adults, such as consent, the ethics, do we want to put children through any possible trauma?”.
Daniel Powell, analyst developer at CEMET, said: “We created a scenario allowing a student and teacher to enter a virtual hospital room equipped with all the tools needed for a tracheotomy.
“The student can complete guided training or a test, during which they can interact with the tools they need during the procedure. They can also learn how the patient could respond during the procedure, such as becoming pale or their heart rate slowing.
“At the end they are shown the results and hints for a better performance.”
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