title: Single and multi-user virtual patient design in the virtual world.
abstract: This research addresses the need for the flexible creation of immersive clinical training simulations for multiple interacting participants and virtual patients by using scalable open source virtual world technologies. Initial development of single-user surgical virtual patients has been followed by that of multi-user multiple casualties in a field environment and an acute hospital emergency department. The authors aim to validate and extend their reproducible framework for eventual application of virtual worlds to whole hospital major incident response simulation and to multi-agency, pan-geographic mass casualty exercises.
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London, UK. dave.taylor@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sevdalis
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Batrick
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darzi
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010348:Patient Care Team; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D006113:United Kingdom; D014584:User-Computer Interface