An eye-opener
State-of-the-art $1.5M lab is the first of its kind in Canada
UW launches virtual reality optometry lab
WATERLOO — A new virtual reality training lab will help optometry students at the University of Waterloo learn how to diagnose problems more quickly and accurately.
The $1.5-million state-of-theart lab is the first of its kind in Canada.
The technology simulates a patient’s eye and gives students an opportunity to practise essential clinical skills and diagnose a range of vision problems and eye diseases.
“This is amazing for students,” said Dr. Stanley Woo, director and clinical professor in the School of Optometry & Vision Science. “Now you can practise until you’re perfect.”
Before, students relied on textbook pictures of various conditions and they practised eye examinations on each other.
With the new simulator, a student wears a headset and manipulates a condensing lens to look at the back of the virtual patient’s eye. The simulated cases are based on real patient histories and were developed with input from universities and eye specialists.
The training modules become increasingly complex as the student progresses. It’s helpful for instructors too as software monitors the student’s progress and highlights areas where more support may be needed.
By the time the student sees their first real patient, they’re comfortable with the techniques and have knowledge of a wide range of conditions.
“It accelerates their learning, it increases their confidence,” Woo said. “The technology really is a game-changer.”
Third-year student Anysia Unick is thrilled with the technology, her only complaint being that it wasn’t available earlier in her schooling.
“It’s very hard to do this technique because everything has to be lined up perfect to get a good view,” she said. “This would make learning so much easier.”
Practising on other students and their young, healthy eyes, they don’t get to see first-hand a lot of serious issues such as a detached retina, macular degeneration or glaucoma.
And looking at an illustration is not the same, Unick said. “Here you have to search for it yourself.”
The lab received $800,000 in funding from FYI doctors, an optometrist-led national chain of clinics. Waterloo graduate Dr. Al Ulsifer, chief executive officer and chair, led the creation of the company in 2008 with a group of UW optometry grads.
The University of Waterloo is one of just two optometry schools in Canada.
The lab is equipped with five of the simulators to practise binocular indirect ophthal-mos copy. Next slit lamp simulators will be added, likely next year.