Warwick Medical School with part of the funding they received from Health Education England (now part of NHS England) to provide immersive technology based solutions to their students, commissioned us to produce five Virtual Reality (VR) 360 interactive video training apps.

One app Lights Camera Actions – Discharge Stories was created in collaboration with six Year 1 medical students as part of a Special Study module, where we gave them in-depth training on the design and development process.

We also provided advice and support on the deployment process and options available for VR headsets and management software. Warwick Medical School have now purchased 60 Quest 2 VR headsets along with ArborXR to manage and deploy VR content including our 360 video apps.

The final versions of the apps have been preloaded onto the Medical School Quest 2 headsets running via the 3DVista app and are also available to view in VR via the university web servers, using a mobile phone and quality Google Cardboard headsets that the medical school will be providing for all 200 Year 1 students. All of the apps can also be viewed outside of VR, in a browser of a PC or tablet where the 360 image can be dragged around to see everything, using a finger or mouse.

1. The Patient Discharge Journey App

The Patient Discharge Journey 360 Interactive Training Video App was created for Warwick Medical School in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists at George Eliot Hospital (GEH) Nuneaton, and follows the discharge process at the hospital from a patient’s perspective. The patient, Surjit is a lady in her 80s, who is admitted to A&E following a fall where she fractured her left arm and hit her head while alone at home.

Throughout the journey there are pop ups of the team explaining their role in the process and extracts from the key documents recording Surjit’s progress during her 6 day stay. Interactions are included where users decide what actions to take next.

Users also join a board round as they discuss Surjit’s case and make a virtual visit to five locations in her home to decide what changes should be made to offer her the best support while she is recovering, before seeing the changes recommended by experienced occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

At the end, users can reflect on the process, review a summary diagram of Surjit’s discharge journey and see the key learning points, before hearing her thoughts on the experience back in her home.

Feedback from a pilot of the app by students, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists at George Eliot Hospital was very positive. Here’s a representative sample of some of their feedback comments:

• Really great visuals and really intuitive to use.
• Excellent use of Virtual Reality. Need more scenarios like these for educational purposes.
• Felt like I was the patient in the discharge.
• Great interactivity. Useful for other professional groups.
• Good way to teach empathy and communication.
• Felt authentic.
• Interactive and engaging.

2. End of Life Consultations

This training app was designed and developed in collaboration with experienced doctors and training staff at George Eliot Hospital.

The app introduces students to the ReSPECT (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) form and a specially adapted version of the SCARS communication framework used for discussing end of life care with a dying person.

Throughout each scenario there are breaks for reflection on how the consultation is going and interactions where students can decide what they would do next, before seeing what the doctor in the model consultation does.
Students can also hear the thoughts of both the doctor and the patient before and after the consultation, and access the patient’s notes and completed ReSPECT form.

Feedback from a pilot of the app by 190 Year 2 medical students was overwhelmingly positive. Here’s a representative sample of their feedback comments from the evaluation survey:

• Allowed you to experience a sensitive situation before experiencing it in person. Good for exposure.
• Felt like I was in the room shadowing the doctor without intruding on the patient.
• Really immersive and educational at the same time.
• Good blend of written information – ReSPECT form and patient background.
• Very realistic – I was able to see exactly how a consultation like this could be done.

3. Neurodiversity Consultation

This app was developed in collaboration with Jannine Perryman and Becca Channon of ADHD WISE and based on their experience as mother and daughter of trying to get Becca a referral for an ADHD assessment.

During this immersive experience, users sit in on the consultation with a GP, seeing part of it from the patient’s perspective as someone who has ADHD and getting an insight into each person’s thoughts along the way. Interactions allow users to decide what actions the doctor should take next.

4. Patient engagement on the use of antibiotics

This training app includes two alternative scenarios of a consultation where the patient asks the doctor for antibiotics to treat an ongoing urinary infection.

In the first ‘bad’ consultation, seen from the patient’s point of view, the doctor shows little empathy with the patient. In the second ‘model’ consultation, the doctor shows a good rapport with the patient and provides a good explanation as to why antibiotics may not be needed, empowering the patient by offering choice and encouraging discussion.
Interactions are included at key points, allowing users to decide what actions they would take next before seeing what the doctor does.

5. Lights Camera Actions – Discharge Stories

A new Warwick Medical School Special Studies Course (SSC1) called ‘Lights Camera Actions’ was created that ran in ten weekly, three hour sessions with a group of six Year 1 medical students. We delivered six of the sessions along with ongoing support and supervision on the day of the shoot, providing in-depth training for the students on the design and development of an interactive 360 video project, with hands-on experience of:

• Using PowerPoint to create storyboards to plan scenarios.
• Scripting outline scenarios and improving these in a MS Teams meeting run through with role players prior to the shoot.
• Operating a 360 video camera and using radio mics with an audio recorder to capture scenarios in a 360 video shoot.
• Planning a video shoot, documenting how the location will be set up, what props will be needed, camera and role player positions, and preparing a detailed schedule and working copies of scripts for simulation actors and role players.
• Directing a 360 video shoot based on the completed scripts.
• Editing 360 video footage in Adobe Premier Pro.
• Editing audio files using Audacity.
• Creating graphic and photo assets using Photoshop and PowerPoint.
• Developing an interactive 360 video app using the 3DVista development tool. Publishing an interactive 360 video app for viewing on a VR headset.

All six Warwick Medical School students successfully completed the module with grades of A or A+. This five-minute video gives an overview of the final Lights Camera Actions – Discharge Stories app they created with each scenario designed and developed by a team of three:

Check out this demo of one of our 360 apps

Our 360 interactive training video apps can all be experienced in immersive Virtual Reality in the browser of popular VR headsets such as the Quest 3 or using a good quality Google Cardboard viewer with your phone. They can also be viewed in the browser of a PC or tablet where the 360 image can be dragged around to see everything, using a finger or mouse.

Fully accessible pdf design screen transcripts are available with each app and closed captions are included in all video content.

You can see how our 360 interactive video training apps are designed and function by accessing this demo of a rebuilt version of the Patient Journey through General Practice. URL and QR Code: