Physician games: medical engineers will be trained in virtual reality
Developers from St. Petersburg have created a digital service for training medical engineers using VR-technologies. It is designed for specialists who service high-tech equipment - MRI and CT machines, X-ray equipment and much more. As scientists explained, the development will be in demand, as medical equipment is becoming more and more complex, and training on real samples is becoming more and more expensive. Experts noted in conversation with Izvestia that training for professions in virtual reality is becoming more and more relevant, so the technology will be in demand.
VR for medical equipment repair
LETI scientists have developed a digital service for training medical engineers using VR. The system will help them get practical skills in repair and maintenance of such devices.
According to the authors of the project, in recent years there has been a growing shortage of qualified specialists in the field of medical equipment maintenance, which is becoming more complex and expensive every year. At the same time, training on real equipment is hampered by the complexity of the design of modern equipment and the impossibility of recreating various breakdowns. In addition, additional costs for transportation and accommodation during advanced training affect the availability of quality education.
- To solve this problem, we have developed modular software SeVRis, which uses virtual reality (VR) technologies to train specialists in repair and maintenance of various types of modern medical equipment," Ruslan Suvorov, the project manager, a member of the student scientific society (SSO) of the CDIO-FIBS Laboratory of St. Petersburg State Technical University "LETI", told Izvestia. Ruslan Suvorov.
The service provides access to interactive and detailed virtual models of various medical devices that simulate their real operation, such as pulse oximeters, X-ray machines, MRI and CT machines.
Why simulate malfunctions
The system allows the user to simulate various malfunctions such as pulse oximeter LED outages, contamination, photodiode damage, MRI table movement malfunction, mechanical damage to protective covers, and more, providing the ability to learn and troubleshoot in an equipment-safe virtual environment. In addition, the platform allows trainees to access materials and practice from anywhere, greatly enhancing educational opportunities.
To date, there are no analogs of this system on the domestic market. The competitive advantage of the development is that the target audience is service engineers of medical equipment, because such companies as Simulators & Digital Technology offer VR-systems for specialists of different spheres of industry, which do not include medical instrumentation. And existing technical solutions in the medical field mostly include only simulation of doctor-patient interaction.
- We believe that this product can be useful for universities and colleges, which will use it to improve educational programs. In addition, medical equipment manufacturers and medical institutions are interested in training their employees, which will allow them to improve patient care," said Ruslan Suvorov.
Virtual profession
Virtual reality is one of the most promising technologies, which finds application in various fields. It allows to create highly realistic simulations that open new horizons not only for entertainment, but also for education and training of specialists, said Vadim Istomin, leading engineer of the Center of STI Competences "Digital Materials Science: New Materials and Substances" at Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
- In particular, VR-technologies are used for training and education of specialists in various fields - from medicine and aviation to engineering and technology. They help to simulate real working situations, improve the level of training of specialists and minimize risks when performing complex tasks, - said the expert.
The solution will be in demand among manufacturers not only as a service product, but also as a demonstration material to explain to medical institutions how their medical equipment works, believes Denis Zakharkin, Director of VR Concept LLC (a participant of the Neuronet STI market).
- Such a project emphasizes the importance of Russian software products for the possibility of certification of medical products, which is especially important for the development of domestic medicine," he believes.
The developed service will help young specialists to see with their own eyes and roughly feel what they will do, said Anton Averyanov, CEO of ST IT Group, an expert of the TechNet NTI market. According to him, this may increase the preparedness of young personnel for applied tasks, as well as increase the quality of work performed.
Development team
However, as the experts noted, the quality of specialists' training can be judged only after the development is implemented in the educational process.
The startup was presented at the XI International Forum on Digital Transformation "IT Dialogue".
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