A Virtual Operating Room for Context-Relevant Training

Abstract

A fully immersive virtual environment simulating an operating room is described. The Virtual Operating Room (VOR) is a platform that integrates procedural medical simulators into a coherent, context-relevant training environment. Trainees interact with a surgical team comprised of real and/or virtual team members (e.g., attending surgeon, anesthesiologist, scrub technician, and circulating nurse). All characters are defined by their procedural knowledge and personality. The interface capitalizes on natural interactions and is largely driven by voice recognition and text-to-speech software. A custom designed controller manages the VOR functionality, rendering platform, speech recognition, and text-to-speech generation modules. The VOR allows instructors and researchers to simulate the physical and social context in which surgical procedures are performed. The VOR can be used to train surgical teams and address issues in judgment, decision making, team dynamics, and interpersonal skills. Most importantly, the VOR allows medical teams to train the way they operate without putting patients at risk.