Axon Park Receives Massive Praise for New Medical Simulation PPE VR Training Simulator to Combat COVID-19
COVID-19 has forced healthcare institutions around the world to rapidly train staff for donning and doffing of PPE. But as the global demand for Personal Protective Equipment has limited access to these extremely valuable supplies, the ability for professionals to train for applying and removing these protective barriers has been severely limited. Enter Axon Park, a new Silicon Valley-based company which has launched an amazing healthcare simulation VR PPE Training Program perfect for the new Oculus Quest 2. Here we take a closer look at this impressive PPE Simulator within Axon Park’s expanding virtual reality training campus, led by CEO Taylor Freeman who co-founded UploadVR!
Available in Axon Park’s virtual campus, the flexible on-demand and asynchronous learning modules work to support front-line healthcare workers by allowing them to practice donning and doffing virtually. Along with increasing faculty and patient safety, this virtual training has helped hospitals and other healthcare facilities and institutions to save critical PPE, using the gear only when absolutely necessary.
“Once you get the hang of virtual reality, this is an excellent training mode for repetitive training in the donning and doffing procedure,” Assistant Director of Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Preparedness at White Plains Hospital Dr. Erik Larsen, M.D., who led response teams during Hurricane Katrina, said.
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To develop these virtual reality in healthcare simulation modules, Axon Park utilized a three-cycle training modality. This modality is what allowed Axon Park to embed the virtual donning and doffing process into the “muscle memory” of learners. Being able to successfully complete this process without even thinking about the step-by-step procedures becomes critical when stressful COVID-19-related scenarios present themselves across healthcare environments.
The Axon Park PPE VR training three-cycle donning and doffing process begins with a thorough tutorial, where learners are presented with the correct ways to put on and remove PPE, as defined by the CDC and WHO. Then, learners are presented with detailed examples of proper techniques, and required to virtually demonstrate the physical motions involved during each step of the process.
Each virtual reality in medicine training simulation is led by an AI simulation tutor named Axon, and the dashboard is composed of an admin portal and three main modes: tutorial, train and test. As the learner completes each training mode, their interaction data can be viewed in the module’s real-time admin dashboard. At the conclusion of the module, a confidence rating within the admin dashboard will provide the learner with information regarding their performance, and if they are prepared to complete the donning and doffing procedure on their own.
In approximately 15 minutes, Axon will provide learners with the knowledge and skills they need to complete donning and doffing safety and efficiently. This entire process helps relay valuable information to learners and instructors as to where errors are likely to occur in the future. The dashboard also enables administrators to monitor training performance in real time, and maintain clear records for auditing compliance with national standards. This training helps to further identify those learners in need of remediation.
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Strong Praise for Axon Park Within Months of Launching PPE VR Simulator
- Out of 50 companies, Axon Park recently took home 2nd place with $5,000 in awards in the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA).
- In less than 2 months, a pilot program at White Plains Hospital has already doubled use of Axon Park’s VR training program and started a train-the-trainer program.
- Techolite named Axon Park one of the Top 5 Medical VR Training Companies of 2020
Axon Park PPE VR Medical Training Simulator Turn Key Solutions
For healthcare institutions not yet comfortable with Virtual Reality headsets there is good news, the group can help with turn key solutions to move your program forward immediately:
- Headsets & Controllers: Axon Park can source all the headsets and controllers for clinical simulation programs to make the process as quick and seamless as possible.
- Training Videos & Material: Axon Park can provide self-guided videos to teach medical simulation learners how to use the VR training system on their own.
- Setup & Onboarding: The company can also help your educators install the content onto the headset to streamline the training experience.
- Ongoing Support: The team is dedicated to working around the clock to ensure healthcare training programs getting the support they need to deliver successful training.
According to Axon Park, the company has anecdotal evidence (from a physician who is using the company’s PPE VR training simulator with his 120-person team in New York) that VR training has the strong potential to be more effective than just-in-time, video, or traditional methods. The company also shared that VR training has shown to be approximately 10 times less expensive than in-person training.
Axon Park PPE VR Training Simulator Development Background
During the peak of the COVID crisis in New York, Axon Park spoke with Farrukh Jafri, M.D., the Assistant Director of Education and Simulation at White Plains Hospital. At that time, Axon Park asked what virtual reality simulation can do to assist in the efforts to support front line healthcare workers. Without hesitation, Jafri explained that there was a need for a better system to train donning and doffing.
Jafri was not only working in the emergency department as an acute care physician, but was busy developing and training a critical airway team to manage all airway-related emergencies in his hospital. This training was taking place through White Plains Hospital’s use of the facility simulation center. The most critical element of this training program was the donning and doffing process, where Jafri used ultraviolet dye and atomizers embedded into a high-fidelity mannequin to demonstrate to participants where they were making mistakes. In addition to keeping his staff safe on the front line, this training was designed to further increase patient safety.
Axon Park’s virtual reality program not only used the COVID19 checklists and guidelines from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control, but also the exact maneuvers, movements and haptics used by Jafri and his team. Together, they were expected to manage the most critical cases with the highest viral load.
According to Axon Park, the company’s lead technical designer, Bruno Pedroza, has done an incredible job innovating the design of the new PPE VR clinical simulation training program. He has also helped break new ground on some of the technical implementations in Unreal Engine to achieve remarkable performance and physics-based interactions on Oculus Quest.
More About Axon Park
Axon Park is an e-learning solutions company that includes a virtual campus. The company helps organizations, governments and universities harness the power of virtual reality (VR in simulation), augmented reality (AR in simulation) and extended reality (XR in simulation) for training and education. Axon Park is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building an inclusive and immersive future, while striving for XR as a means to equalize access to opportunity.
Most recently, Axon Park has received the award for “Best Presentation” at the Mount Sinai Tri-State Simulation Symposium in September, and was selected by the IDSA as a finalist for their annual IDea Incubator. Moving forward, Axon Park is also running a large-scale study in New York City later in 2020. The company is committed to furthering the field of VR training through the expansion of the “Axon Park Virtual Campus” and subsequent virtual training materials.
Learn More on the Axon Park Website!
Lance Baily, BA, EMT-B, is the Founder / CEO of HealthySimulation.com, which he started in 2010 while serving as the Director of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas. Lance also founded SimGHOSTS.org, the world’s only non-profit organization dedicated to supporting professionals operating healthcare simulation technologies. His co-edited Book: “Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Operations, Technology, and Innovative Practice” is cited as a key source for professional certification in the industry. Lance’s background also includes serving as a Simulation Technology Specialist for the LA Community College District, EMS fire fighting, Hollywood movie production, rescue diving, and global travel. He and his wife live with their two brilliant daughters and one crazy dachshund in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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