Can VR Improve EMS Response to Pediatric Emergencies?
A National Institute of Standards and Technology-funded study, conducted by Health Scholars, aims to evaluate the efficacy of using virtual reality to train emergency medical services personnel in pediatric assessment.
July 13, 2021 • A medical innovation company recently launched a study funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to assess how effective virtual reality (VR) is in the training of EMS personnel, specifically in the assessment of pediatric emergencies.
According to Dr. Brian Gillett, president of Health Scholars, the study will pit traditional EMS training against voice-driven VR interface training data through September.
July 12, 2021
The state of pediatric emergency care in the U.S. needs help: audits over the past few years have found inconsistency in care could VR solve that?
SHOW TRANSCRIPT
Tucked back in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, suit up. It feels odd to connect virtual reality and the home of the atomic clock to saving kids’ lives. But here, blind spots in pediatric emergencies are coming into view.
Training for pediatric emergencies is challenging because they’re rare and doctors and EMTs get little real-life experience.
Robert Putfark. EMS Captain, Arvada Fire Department: When s the last time any of our, you know, literally any of our paramedics or EMTs have run a cardiac arrest on a kid less than 10? We had to last year. And I have sixty five paramedics.