Virtual Reality, a Novel Training Tool in Surgery for Pre-Clinical Research

In compliance with the 3Rs principles, developing new learning methods in the field of preclinical research is necessary to refine the training process for the acquisition of advanced technical skills, to reduce the number of animal use, and to overcome the regulatory constraints particularly with the non-human primate (NHP).

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is such an innovative teaching method and is currently emerging in the field of training tools for human clinical practice.

We will present an overview of VR, and of its practical applications including the example of the first immersive veterinary tutorial in VR which has been developed and used by our surgery team, in order to teach the intrathecal administration and the CSF sampling techniques in the NHP.

Our immersive tutorial is based on “first-person view” video (180 degrees, 3D, ultra-high definition) embedded in a virtual reality headset, which allows the development of learning by imitation, facilitated by an immersive and realistic environment, and completed with additional assets (blended learning). We have been using this tutorial both for initial training and for refresh training (maintenance of technical skills and best practices). Our data demonstrate that immersive video facilitates the initial training and increases self-confidence of learners which results in higher operator performance, compared to conventional teaching strategies. Recent scientific studies have also shown that the use of this technology increases memory retention rate and results in fewer performance errors.

We will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this innovative solution which is a useful and efficient training tool for surgery as for highly skilled technical procedures in other disciplines, and which also may help reducing the number of animal use before trainees’ validation.

The attendants will also have the opportunity to sign up for a free trial of the aforementioned immersive tutorial inside a VR headset, which will be held the same day as this keynote (Dry Lab).