Immersive virtual reality for interdisciplinary trauma management - initial evaluation of a training tool prototype

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Trauma room care requires interdisciplinary collaboration for critical patient management.
• Effective training is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes in emergency settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an immersive virtual reality (VR) training tool for trauma room algorithms.
• To conduct a qualitative assessment of the VR training tool's efficacy and user experience.

Main Methods:

• Two trauma room scenarios were filmed in 3D-360° and developed into an immersive VR experience.
• Anesthesiology participants completed questionnaires and eye movement tracking post-training.

Main Results:

• Participants reported high immersion (mean=6/7) and low simulator sickness (mean=1.74/20).
• VR was deemed a useful medical education tool (mean=1.26/7).
• Residents showed significantly increased confidence post-training (p<0.05), unlike specialists.

Conclusions:

• Immersive VR provides a novel and effective method for familiarizing clinicians with trauma room protocols.
• The VR training tool is particularly beneficial for less experienced residents, improving their preparedness.
• VR training is well-accepted and addresses limitations in traditional in-person training due to resource scarcity.