MetaNurse - Mixed Reality Simulation for Nursing Training

2021年6月，NHS有93000个护士职位空缺，比前一年增加了23%。在过去的5年里，来自欧盟的护士人数下降了90%，36%的英国护士表示他们正在考虑离开这个行业。这是一个全球性的问题，新合格的医护人员不足，以及员工保留问题意味着，到2030年，全球将短缺1100万名护士。在英国，培训一名护士需要三年时间，费用高达7万英镑。每年大约有1.7万名新护士符合资格，这意味着要解决这一短缺问题需要很多年。政府已承诺到2025年增加5万名护士，但这种增加本土护士的努力意味着需求超过了能力，这一问题因新冠肺炎疫情的限制而加剧，限制了获得高质量培训设施的机会。模拟程序是训练的重要组成部分，它使学生能够在安全的环境中使用真实的设备练习，边做边学。传统上使用的是病人模型，但这些模型保真度低，价格昂贵，而且不允许远程培训。虚拟现实（VR）越来越多地用于护士培训，使用数字、视听内容来创建沉浸式学习环境。这些可以远程使用，但不能使用所有的感官，也不能提供开发“肌肉记忆”所需的动手触觉反馈，这在正确使用设备和技术必须成为第二天性的紧急程序中非常重要。MetaNurse将通过使用混合现实来模拟临床程序来解决这个问题。混合现实（MR）将虚拟现实与现实世界的物体结合起来，使用直接的手部跟踪来实现与触觉反馈的同步交互。该项目将通过改进真实/虚拟世界的注册，手和对象跟踪来改进最先进的技术，以创建尽可能接近现实生活的模拟。这项核心技术将被纳入与英国一所领先的护理学校合作开发的培训计划，并由教师和学生进行评估。

In June 2021 there were 93,000 nursing vacancies in the NHS, 23% more than the previous year. In the last 5 years nurse numbers from the EU have fallen 90% and 36% of UK nurses stated they are considering leaving the profession. This is a global problem, with insufficient newly qualified staff and issues with staff retention meaning there will be a global shortage of 11m nurses by 2030\.It takes three years to train a nurse in the UK and costs up to £70,000\. Around 17,000 new nurses qualify each year meaning it will take many years before this shortfall is addressed.The government has pledged an additional 50,000 nurses by 2025 yet this drive for more home-grown means demand outstrips capacity, a problem exacerbated by restrictions under covid, limiting access to high-quality training facilities.Simulations of procedures are an important element of training which enable students to learn by doing, practising with real equipment in a safe environment. Patient mannequins are conventionally used but these are low-fidelity, expensive and do not allow for remote training.Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly being used in nurse training, using digital, audio-visual content to create immersive learning environments. These can be used remotely yet do not use all the senses or provide the hands-on, tactile feedback needed to develop the 'muscle memory', so important in emergency procedures where the correct use of equipment and techniques must be second nature.MetaNurse will address this by using mixed reality to simulate clinical procedures. Mixed Reality (MR) combines VR with real-world objects, using direct hand tracking to enable simultaneous interaction with tactile feedback. This project will improve on the state-of-the art by improving real/virtual world registration, hand and object tracking to create a simulation that is as close to real life as possible. This core technology will be wrapped in a training programme developed with a leading UK nursing school and evaluated with both instructors and students.