Watch: Doctor treats hologram patient in first-of-its-kind training programme

University of Cambridge is offering doctors a mixed reality training technology. (Image credit: www.cuh.nhs.uk)

The world is making great strides in the field of metaverse, with the technology now being used in medical learning.

The University of Cambridge has partnered with a Los Angeles-based  technology company called GigXR to create a new programme where doctors can train in life-like holographic patient scenarios.

Wearing mixed reality headsets, doctors can see their colleagues in real life and also interact with a "multi-layered, medically accurate holographic patient".

"Medical instructors are able to change patient responses, introduce complications and record observations and discussions, whether in person in a teaching group or remotely to multiple locations worldwide, via the internet," the Cambridge University Hospitals said.

"Throughout medical school we would have situations where actors would come in an act as patients," junior doctor Ankit Gupta said. "With the pandemic a lot of that changed to tablet based interactions because of the risk to people of the virus.

"Having a hologram patient you can see, hear and interact with is really exciting and will really make a difference to student learning," he added.

The technology, called HoloScenarios, will also allow learners to assess holographic patients through smartphones and tablets.

"True-to-life, safe-to-fail immersive learning can be accessed, delivered and shared across the world, with the technology now available for license to learning institutions everywhere," Cambridge University Hospitals said.

Dr Arun Gupta, who is leading the HoloScenarios project at Cambridge, said there has been a rapid increase in demand for platforms providing mixed reality learning.

"Mixed reality is increasingly recognised as a useful method of simulator training," he added.