U.S. Air Force Awards SimX Contract to Adapt VR Medical Simulation Training for Emergency Canine Veterinary Care

SimX was awarded an R&D contract by the U.S. Air Force to develop virtual reality training simulations that will help prepare pararescuemen, rescue officers and veterinarians to care for wounded canines.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Virtual Advancement of Learning for Operational Readiness (VALOR) program at SimX, Inc. has been awarded an R&D contract by the U.S. Air Force to develop a novel VR medical simulation training capability focused on emergency prehospital canine care. This new program seeks to assist in training the DOD's elite medical personnel on the latest canine prehospital care standards.

The program will initially focus on adapting SimX's existing Virtual Reality Medical Simulation System (VRMSS) to include canine-specific components as well as unique medical scenarios outlined by the existing canine emergency curriculum. These will be developed in collaboration with and tested by Pararescuemen, Rescue Officers, and Veterinarians of the USAF 24th Special Operations Wing.

"The vision of the VALOR program is to adapt VR medical simulation training to enable high-quality, repeatable, and accessible clinical training for any scenario," said Karthik V Sarma, PhD, VALOR Principal Investigator and SimX CTO. "We're honored to have the opportunity to adapt the VRMSS to ensure that our nation's veterinarians and emergency medical services personnel are ready to provide canine companions with the highest level of care."

The program's goal is to develop a novel VR training capability that will enable faster, more frequent, and more cost-effective simulation training for canine emergency care, enabling better medical outcomes for injured canines. The developed capabilities will also be made available for commercial use. The planned initial capabilities cover the spectrum of circulatory, respiratory, and field surgical interventions with a planned curriculum including scenarios such as Acute Head Trauma and Gastric Dilatation - Volvulus.

"The mission impact of this project will be increased overall medical capability for canine emergency care. These capabilities are critical for ensuring the highest level of medical care provided by our forces," said Col. John R. Dorsch, DO, USAF (ret.), former USAF
Pararescue Medical Director and Wing Surgeon of the 24th Special Operations Wing.

SimX created an industry-leading virtual reality medical simulation platform (http://simxvr.com/) that is used around the world and by top institutions including Mayo Clinic, Stanford, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, the US Air Force, and many others. It allows trainees to work together in multiplayer virtual reality cases either together in the same space or from the safety of their own homes. SimX developed a unique system that allows for a "holodeck-like" experience without dropdown menus or virtual selections. You talk and interact with virtual patients the same way that you would in real life. The scalable SimX Scenario System allows for rapid development of new training materials and cases, and instant deployment to all learners. Learn more about the SimX System at http://simxvr.com/

AFRL and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research process in an attempt to speed up the experience, broaden the pool of potential applicants and decrease bureaucratic overhead. Beginning in SBIR 18.2, and now in 21.1, the Air Force has begun offering 'The Open Topic' SBIR/STTR program that is faster, leaner and open to a broader range of innovations.

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SOURCE SimX