Virtual reality training: University of Manitoba shows off cutting-edge technology
Virtual reality can be used to play games, visit a place you've never been to before, or even conduct a business meeting.
Now, nursing and other health science students at the University of Manitoba are making the same leap into VR.
"It uses all the same controls as they use in gaming," said Dr. Lawrence Gillman, the director of clinical learning and simulation at the Max Rady College of Medicine.
"So anyone who's been in a gaming environment before picks it up super easy."
Except here, they aren't slaying dragons, they're learning how to save lives without putting real patients at risk.
"They can try things, they can explore some of their options or treatment options that we normally wouldn't let them do because, of course, we don't want to harm patients," said Professor Nicole Harder from the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
"So they can do that in a virtual environment and really get that concept of what it means to be thinking like a nurse."
Other health professionals can also benefit from this training. Eric Northwood is an advanced practice respiratory therapist. He said VR training will give him a huge advantage.
"I do inter-facility transfers. So I'm in the back of an ambulance picking patients up from hospital to hospital," said Northwood. "So to be able to simulate a cramped environment like that, it's actually kind of difficult in a simulation area, but with a set of goggles on, you can kind of be anywhere."
The technology is still in its infancy and a bit clunky. Northwood said during his demo, you could leave a syringe hanging mid-air and it wouldn't fall to the ground.
Still, Gillman believes VR will be a critical part of training going forward. "To be able to do this so much easier without a mannequin where it's easily accessible, I truly think this is the future of simulation."
The university has been using this VR technology in the College of Nursing since 2022, but now it's going to be expanding it to the Faculty of Health Sciences.
In the future, officials think it may be possible for students to train with the technology using their own headsets at home. For now, it's being done in university labs where they supply the equipment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.