Researchers are developing XR training to fight opioid overdose

2023年8月22日 – 非营利性医疗机构OSF Healthcare(OSF) this week announced a new partnership with Illinois State University (ISU) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) to use mixed reality technology to create an immersive training program designed to help address opioid overdose deaths.

这项合作基于伊利诺伊创新网络（Illinois Innovation Network）资助的教育项目Virtual Reality Embedded Naloxone Training(VENT) development. This work focuses on the development of technology for mixed use or augmented reality (AR) education to provide an immersive and engaging training method for teaching people how to administer naloxone, a drug used for suspected opioids. Safe and effective antidote for drug overdose. OSF noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made naloxone nasal spray available over-the-counter in March as part of a strategy to reduce harm through innovation and education.

OSF HealthcareScott Barros, director of the OSF Innovation Design Lab, said: "The mixed reality part includes both physical spraying equipment and manikins, allowing people to experience valuable virtual worlds while physically spraying. "

"This had to be easy to use and intuitive to understand, but also sensitively adapted to the community experience, be it urban, rural or suburban, young or old. That was key to the design process," added Barros.

OSF Healthcare said that during the initial development phase, its staff will use SIU's Social Perception Lab resources to assess whether individuals' subconscious biases affect how they respond when others overdose. People trying out the new educational prototype will undergo an assessment called the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to reveal their subconscious biases before attempting to pilot the VENT prototype.

Joanna Willett, a certified nursing educator at ISU's Mennonite College of Nursing, said, "I've seen countless adults, older and younger, parents, grandparents, simulation lab visitors, etc., all using our current Nursing virtual reality software and taking life-saving steps to rescue a patient in respiratory distress with no nurse training. I myself have no doubt that adults of all ages from non-medical backgrounds will benefit from this experience .”

In the second phase of the research, OSF said, they will seek additional funding to conduct a randomized controlled trial to determine whether VENT is more effective than traditional educational methods, and to examine whether the training is more accessible and accessible to the target audience.

OSF also noted that virtual reality training has the advantage of being easily accessible and repeatable, without major setup or cost. Additionally, once developed, simulation training is easily maintained as an educational program. The agency also said the prototypes will be field-tested in community settings and in Illinois State University simulation labs.

For more information on OSF Healthcare and its immersive training solutions, click here.

Credit: OSF Healthcare/OSF Innovation