By: Gabriela del Amo
Imagine being able to perform surgery before ever stepping into a real operating room. Or walking through the human heart to understand how blood flows in real-time. These scenarios aren’t from a sci-fi movie—they’re happening right now thanks to virtual reality (VR). In recent years, VR has become one of the most promising tools in medical education and training. By its ability to simulate real-world medical situations in a safe, reproducible environment, VR is altering the method by which doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel obtain their training.
Virtual reality is a computer simulation that allows people to interact with a virtual 3D environment using a headset and a hand controller. In medicine, the simulations can replicate everything from routine check-ups to complex brain surgeries. Using a VR headset, a medical student can be totally immersed in a simulated operating room, hospital ward, or even inside the human body. The environments are made to respond in real-time, so something like cutting an incision or using a needle would be as realistic as possible.
Virtual reality systems typically include motion-tracking hardware, sensors, and haptic feedback devices that enable users to “feel” pressure or resistance, mimicking real-life sensation. For example, a student learning how to insert an IV can feel a little resistance via a controller, as if one were inserting a needle into a vein. It is through this type of hands-on training that students can practice and learn from their mistakes without posing the risk of injury to a real patient.
For medical students, VR is revolutionizing learning and retention of medical information. Traditional methods like textbooks, lectures, and plastic models have limitations in what they can accomplish. Students can immerse themselves in anatomy through VR and view organs and systems on all sides. They are also able to practice procedures again and again until they are comfortable, something that may not always be possible with real patients.
VR also makes learning more accessible. Underfunded or rural medical schools can use VR to offer top-notch training without the expense of expensive equipment or live patients. Others are even being used in high school classes to introduce healthcare professions to students earlier.
While the training is designed for future doctors, it also benefits patients. The new physicians use VR to prepare them for the real world. They are less likely to make new medical mistakes and are more likely to feel confident during times of crisis. Students are also able to practice solving high-stakes dilemmas, such as emergency room traumas or unusual diseases, so they are prepared when these types of challenges arise in the real world.
It’s not just students who benefit from VR—physicians, nurses, and surgeons use it for ongoing education and development of skills. For example, surgeons can rehearse complex surgeries before actually performing them based on 3D models constructed from real patient scans. It helps reduce surgery times and improve outcomes. Some models provide cohorts of physicians physically scattered across geographic regions an opportunity to train together within a shared virtual world, which is useful especially during public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
VR is also being used to train professionals in empathy and communication. Doctors can step into the virtual world of a patient with dementia and feel confusion and frustration firsthand. Such training makes medical practitioners more empathetic and efficient in real-life interactions
The more advanced the technology becomes, the better the medical VR is going to get. Advances in artificial intelligence will allow simulations to react instantly to levels of expertise by the users, and offer customized advice and challenges. Future VR equipment will be able to include more natural physical sensations like the feel of skin texture or the feel of a heartbeat as heard through a stethoscope.
Augmented reality (AR), which overlays images on the real world, is another version of VR that we may see more of in the future. For example, surgeons can view patient data or 3D models of organs while operating using AR glasses, making procedures more accurate without ever having to glance away from the patient’s body.
More exciting is the potential for distance surgery education, whereby students or professionals on one end of the globe might observe and interact with surgery being performed live at the far opposite corner of the globe. Such global learning can potentially take medicine to the remotest parts of the globe and improve the quality of care for everyone.
Virtual reality is no longer a game—now it’s revolutionizing the next generation of medicine. By providing learners and practitioners with a risk-free, real-world setting in which they can learn and practice, VR is making medicine safer, smarter, and more accessible. The future of medical education has finally arrived—and it’s virtual.
