The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and FundamentalVR are collaborating to spearhead a new virtual reality (VR)-based clinical education initiative to support and advance pediatric ophthalmic training across the globe.
Talk about FundamentalVR first.
Founded in 2012 and based in London, England, FundamentalVR (FVR) is an immersive simulation platform for healthcare professionals (HCPs) focused on accelerating and transforming skill-transfer and surgical proficiency via both VR and mixed reality (MR) applications.
Its Fundamental Surgery platform is the basis for FVR’s endeavors.
Tell me more about that.
Per FVR, the Fundamental Surgery platform is intended to provide surgeons with a scalable, portable (via a headset), and collaborative solution that enables an unlimited number of multi-users to fully rehearse medical and surgical procedures.
A major feature of the platform is the inclusion of HapticVR, a patented kinesthetic haptic system designed to simulate sensations and interactions of bone textures, muscles, and soft tissues with surgical tools and medical devices.
Gotcha. Now tell me about this new initiative.
The Knights Templar Eye Foundation (KTEF) Pediatric Ophthalmology VR Simulation Program is a first-of-its-kind educational initiative—thanks to $5 million in funding from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on improving vision—intended to provide free and open simulation training to ophthalmologists across the globe.
And what will this program include?
Per the initiative, the program aims to give residents, trainees, and practicing ophthalmologists a simulated and safe learning environment to target pediatric eye care via a virtual ecosystem and ophthalmic patient encounter simulations.
These encounters will be designed exclusively for pediatrics, including how to treat diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) (more on that in a moment) along with simulating the performance of ocular procedures such as strabismus surgery.
And the ultimate goal?
The virtual environment intends to give ophthalmic fellows and residents the chance to practice their skills to better prepare for managing a wide variety of pediatric eye diseases, according to the organizations.
And a major advantage with simulated practice: “reducing the risk of complications in patients and accelerating their competency from classroom to the clinic and operating room.”
So what’s the progress on this?
The AAO and FVR are currently in phase 1 of the initiative, which includes building a simulator for ROP.
The plan is for fellows and residents (as well as practicing ophthalmologists) to learn how to examine patients and perform intravitreal injections and laser treatments—”all in a safe environment through VR.”
Why ROP first?
According to K. David Epley, MD, deputy director of the KTEF Pediatric Ophthalmology Education Center, it’s the natural first choice due to its leading cause of preventable pediatric blindness.
“At the same time, the opportunity for trainees to learn how to properly examine and treat babies is limited,” he stated. “Outside of the U.S. many countries don’t allow residents to perform any pediatric surgeries, so there’s huge need for the ability to practice and learn proper techniques.”
I have to ask… is this VR platform available yet?
If you’re attending the annual American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting this weekend, yes!
A live demonstration is available at the Resource Center, Moscone West Expo (Booth #7537) during the following times:
- Saturday, Nov. 4 (9 am to 5 pm PST)
- Sunday, Nov. 5 (9 am to 5 pm PST)
- Monday, Nov. 6 (9 am to 3:30 pm PST)
And don’t forget to check out the FundamentalVR booth (#5504)!
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting is taking place Nov. 3-6, 2023 in San Francisco, California.