The University of Salamanca develops a virtual simulator for scoliosis surgery

The multidisciplinary research group of USAL, VisualMed System, and Arsoft have been the architects of this project that offers the entire protocol of action of the intervention for the acquisition of skills in their medical practice.

VisualMed System, Multidisciplinary research group of the University of Salamanca and the company specialized in the implementation of augmented and virtual reality systems, Arsoft, They have developed a virtual simulator of surgical approach in spine for scoliosis.

This simulator, Pioneering virtual surgical approach and training system in a real environment, It offers the entire protocol of action of the intervention for the acquisition of skills in your medical practice.

The technological tool constitutes a "pioneering and innovative system worldwide that offers the medical student and the doctor himself the entire protocol of action of the surgical intervention of this back disease for the acquisition of skills and training of his medical practice ", explains Juan A. Johns, Professor of Human Anatomy and head of the VisualMed System group.

One of the great advantages offered by the system is that "it merges virtual content with real, so that the user can always be guided by the images and videos recorded of a real intervention, that you can even visualize immersively", comments Santiago González, director of Arsoft.

Virtual reality facilitates complete immersion for learning and skill acquisition in any area of health sciences. In the field of medicine it allows "to simulate any type of surgery, Place the student in an operating room to familiarize him or her with the environment, with the handling of surgical instruments or even introduce them inside the human body to offer a comprehensive perspective of their study", underlines Professor Juan A. Johns.

Virtual immersion in a body structure is achieved from stereoscopic vision glasses that, along with the integration of Augmented Reality, It makes them a "technology of teaching innovation of great potential for training" since it allows medical students to contemplate any part of the human body in three dimensions "as if they really had it on their study table", adds the director of Arsoft.

Other projects

In addition to the design of the simulator for the surgical approach in a patient with scoliosis, during the last years VisualMed System and Arsoft have executed different technological systems of advanced medical visualization, for teaching purposes and oriented towards clinical practice, who stand out among the most innovative in their field.

Among the solutions they have developed is an interactive virtual auscultation system and a project for immersive virtual learning of the anatomical structures of the human skull..

The first consists of a virtual reality system that allows the user to manipulate a stethoscope to locate auscultation points in a virtual patient..

Positioning the stethoscope at the correct points hears the sound of the heart that would be heard when used in a real case. In the application each sound is different depending on the auscultation point and, In addition, attends to the presence or absence of heart disease in the individual under examination. The objective is that the student, Don't just learn to auscultate, but "do it by also learning to differentiate heart sounds depending on the areas and the different heart diseases that can occur in a patient", explains Professor Juanes.

For its part, The environment created for the study of the anatomical structures of the human skull shows all the didactic potential offered by the application of virtual reality for the study of human anatomy.

With this objective they have developed a specific software, Executed in stereoscopic glasses, where the user can see the different bones and foramina that make up the skeleton of the skull, accompanied, turn, of the teaching explanations in audio guide format. In addition, The application includes a self-assessment system that allows to carry out an assessment of the knowledge acquired after its handling.

The combination of spherical videos has also been used by Arsoft and VisualMed System to offer virtual immersions in clinical environments such as operating rooms or radiology rooms and, even, allow you to witness real surgical procedures as if you were participating in them.

Other articles on Arsoft, University of Salamanca, VisualMed System