Applying Multi-User Virtual Reality to Collaborative Medical Training

Abstract

We present a multi-user virtual reality (VR) setup that aims at providing novel training tools for paramedics that enhances current learning methods. The hardware setup consists of a two-user full-scale VR environment with head-mounted displays for two interactive trainees and one additional desktop pc for one trainer participant. The software provides a connected multi-user environment, showcasing a paramedic emergency simulation with focus on anaphylactic shock, a representative scenario for critical medical cases that happen too rare to eventually occur within a regular curricular term of vocational training. The prototype offers hands-on experience on multi-user VR in an applied scenario, generating discussion around current state and future development concerning three important research areas: (a) user navigation, (b) interaction, (c) level of visual abstraction, and (d) level of task abstraction.