Immersive virtual reality healthcare training: the only hair training program with a haptic arm

One of the goals of the virtual reality training application is to convey the actual tactile sensation of operating on a patient. The application therefore reproduces the head of a typical patient with alopecia as closely as possible. There are various elements that increase the level of difficulty of the virtual reality procedure, such as a greater number of grey hairs among the follicles and a patient with increased bleeding. As the application continues to evolve in successive phases, elements such as scars, swirls, curly hair, and so on may be incorporated.

The application requires programming with a specific calibre developed under the supervision of Insparya’s medical team to convey the tactile sensation. The programming makes it possible to transmit all kinds of sensations to the professional through the haptic arm: different degrees of morbidity and hardness, surface roughness, textures, etc. This way, the application can reproduce the sensation of working directly on a real patient’s head with total accuracy.

How does it work?

When starting the simulation, the device generates an image of a patient in an operating room that’s quite similar to the actual experience in the operating room. The virtual reality glasses have motion sensors that make it possible to interact through head movements.

The trainee will know both the number of follicles they have mistakenly extracted with the punch, as well as the extraction and implantation speed reached. The application sets speed goals for the user and displays the number of follicular units extracted and implanted, as well as the time spent, which the professional can see on screen during the training.

With these parameters, it is possible to evaluate the skill of the professional and assign the next level in their training phase. The user will not be able to move on to a more difficult objective until they reach sufficient expertise to complete the basic objective through completing the three virtual training phases. 

In addition, the haptic virtual reality training application has a system that lets the user turn off the aids provided by the application as desired. Completing the procedure without a guidance system offers a higher level of difficulty.