US Air Force grants SimX contract to adapt VR medical simulation training for emergency canine veterinary care

Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness (VALOR) program at SimX, Inc has been awarded an R&D contract by the US Air Force to create a Virtual Reality Medical Simulation System (VRMSS) centered on emergency prehospital canine care.

Photo courtesy of SimX.

According to a company release,¹ VRMSS enables clinical trainees to develop their skills in training situations mimicking realistic psychosocial and medical environments through the portrayal of canine 3D avatars.

The program will first focus on adapting SimX's current (VRMSS) to include canine-specific components and individual medical scenarios outlined by the existing canine emergency curriculum. These will be developed in partnership with and tested by Pararescuemen, Rescue Officers, and Veterinarians of the USAF 24th Special Operations Wing.

"The vision of the VALOR program is to adapt VR medical simulation training to enable high-quality, repeatable, and accessible clinical training for any scenario," stated Karthik V Sarma, PhD, VALOR Principal Investigator and SimX CTO, in the release. "We're honored to have the opportunity to adapt the VRMSS to ensure that our nation's veterinarians and emergency medical services personnel are ready to provide canine companions with the highest level of care."¹

The new VR training capability strives to enable faster, more frequent, and more cost-effective simulation training for canine emergency care, and thus, improved medical outcomes. The capabilities will also be made available for commercial use. The planned initial capabilities span across the spectrum of circulatory, respiratory, and field surgical interventions with a planned curriculum including scenarios such as acute head trauma and gastric dilatation - volvulus.

"The mission impact of this project will be increased overall medical capability for canine emergency care. These capabilities are critical for ensuring the highest level of medical care provided by our forces," said Col. John R Dorsch, DO, USAF (ret.), former USAF Pararescue Medical Director and Wing Surgeon of the 24th Special Operations Wing, in the release.¹

Reference

U.S. Air Force awards SimX contract to adapt VR medical simulation training for emergency canine veterinary care. News release. SimX. November 18, 2022. Accessed November 18, 2022. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-air-force-awards-simx-contract-to-adapt-vr-medical-simulation-training-for-emergency-canine-veterinary-care-301682364.html