Medical simulation training is a critical component of maintaining readiness for a wide array of medical missions, but high-fidelity manikin training capabilities remain limited. These limitations are particularly acute given the need to train and sustain an agile combat force consisting of multi-capable warfighters who may be called upon to serve in operations with significant casualty burdens. Such warfighters must be ready to provide prolonged casualty care and maintain the quality of care across role transitions from the point of injury through to the point of definitive care. In this paper, we will discuss the development of the non-collocated cross-role capability adapted into Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness program. This VR capability enables trainees physically located at different installations and assigned to different roles of care to train together in a single virtual immersive domain using wireless virtual reality headsets. Casualties can be treated at every role of care and be handed off between roles of care in real time within the shared virtual domain, allowing complete end-to-end simulation training of the entire chain of casualty care. The developed capability is in operational use by US Department of Defense organizations with continued capability development.
@inproceedings{Sarma2022nato,
author = {Sarma, K. V. and Barrie, M. G. and Dorsch, J. R. and Weiss, T. L. and Ribeira, J. R. and Polson, J. S. and Ribeira, R. J.},
booktitle = {NATO MSG-197 Symposium},
organization = {NATO Modeling and Simulation Group},
publisher = {NATO Science and Technology Organization},
title = {{Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness with Non-Collocated Cross-Role Medical Simulation Training}},
year = {2022},
}