Otago Daily Times

VR helping develop new hospital plans

- MIKE HOULAHAN

DUNEDIN Hospital staff were invited to play video games yesterday — but the virtual reality technology they were trying out has serious medical purposes.

A range of VR programs were available for trial, including training programmes which enable people to take a virtual trip through the human body, and a cellphone based program designed to soothe anxious children about to have an MRI scan.

Arguably the most significan­t program on show was the virtual reality rendering of the soontobeop­ened new Intensive Care Unit.

A twostage developmen­t, the first part opens in two months and virtual reality has been used throughout the design process to ensure accessibil­ity, usability and safety issues have been addressed, before even a single nail is hammered.

Virtual walkthroug­hs had solved several potential problems before they arose, including fixing a corner where two beds being rolled towards each other could not get past, and ensuring all beds could be seen from the nurses’ stations.

‘‘It’s much more practical and safe than getting all the staff walking through a building site,’’ ICU clinical director Craig Carr said.

After proving its worth in the ICU rebuild, VR technology would likely be extensivel­y used in the design of the new Dunedin Hospital.

Dr Carr was keen to use VR to develop was the patient’s perspectiv­e of the wards.

‘‘A patient lying in a bed at ICU waiting to go into theatre, they are spending a lot of their time staring at the ceiling,’’ he said.

‘‘One thing we could be doing is seeing what a patient’s journey looks like from a bed

. . . one thing we discovered in the UK was by doing simple things like putting in nice light installati­ons, soothing pictures of rainbows and waterfalls, anxiety went down, blood pressure went down, heart rates came down.’’

 ?? PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON ?? Unique insights . . . Dunedin Hospital neurosurge­ry house officer Glen Rawlinson examines nerve tissue closeup with the aid of virtual reality rendering.
PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Unique insights . . . Dunedin Hospital neurosurge­ry house officer Glen Rawlinson examines nerve tissue closeup with the aid of virtual reality rendering.
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