IMMERSIVE TECH INC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: 100

Description

1 Abstract: Immertec is facilitating more efficient dissemination of medical knowledge by creating2 a live immersive platform that allows remote physicians to feel as if they are in the same room3 from any location with access to timely biomedical feeds. Immertec has developed proprietary4 software for stereoscopic streaming video in virtual reality (VR), along with relevant biomedical5 feeds, that involves novel algorithms to transmit and process data with unprecedented low6 latency. The low latency streaming allows for synchronous instruction and communication across7 distances such that remote physicians can watch immersive video of live procedures, view critical8 medical feeds, and converse in real-time as if physically present. This system will be tested in the9 context of procedural training for Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians, who rely on accurate and 10 timely information to make clinical decisions. During this Phase 1 effort, Immertec will develop 11 and test the VR user interface with physicians to optimize the physician experience during live 12 events and implement the VR interface into Immertec’s streaming software. The interface should 13 present relevant diagnostic and clinical information to the physician at the point of need, while not 14 distracting from the procedure nor imposing additional mental effort. After developing the user 15 interface with physician feedback, we will conduct an experiment in collaboration with the 16 University of South Florida’s (USF) Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation 17 (CAMLS) to assess the feasibility of live VR for training EM procedures. The experiment will test 18 whether live VR can be utilized to instruct EM residents on an emergency procedure: shoulder 19 dystocia delivery. Shoulder dystocia is a rare emergency that is life-threatening for the mother 20 and infant. Complications from shoulder dystocia for the mother include postpartum hemorrhage, 21 uterine rupture, and 3rd and 4th degree perineal lacerations, while fetal complications include 22 death, brachial plexus injury, and permanent neurologic damage due to hypoxia. Due to the high 23 risk of this event and low occurrence, shoulder dystocia training is necessary for EM residents to 24 receive; yet, limits on face-to-face instruction have highlighted the need for remote training 25 options. Previous teleconferencing systems were limited by lack of depth, field of view, etc. Our 26 aims are to first develop the live VR interface from the physician’s perspective, and then test 27 whether VR streaming provides higher quality training in terms of learner outcomes and user 28 experience compared to traditional 2D technology. Success in this Phase 1 effort will validate 29 Immertec’s immersive technology in medical training, providing empirical evidence of the 30 technical and scientific merit of this approach for future commercialization in the healthcare field.NARRATIVE Public Health Relevance To address the need for rapid dissemination of medical advancements, Immertec has developed novel virtual reality (VR) software that can produce a high-quality stereoscopic video stream to remote physicians in real-time, providing a feeling of “being there” when in-person interactions are not feasible. This technology provides an innovative solution for remote medical training and collaboration by allowing a physician from any location to view live immersive video from a hospital or bioskills lab, interact with critical biomedical image feeds, and converse with a remote instructor or peers. Live VR may be an efficient and effective method of delivering specialized medical information and training to the area of need, which can increase the public’s access to specialty care and reduce disparities in healthcare across distances.