{"id":191,"date":"2026-03-23T13:49:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medlearn.imperial.ac.uk\/innovation\/projects\/360-vr-emergency-simulations\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T16:53:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:53:34","slug":"360-vr-emergency-simulations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/medlearn.imperial.ac.uk\/innovation\/projects\/360-vr-emergency-simulations\/","title":{"rendered":"360\u00b0 Interactive VR Emergency Simulations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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XR & Simulation<\/span>\u00b7<\/span>Faculty of Medicine \u00b7 Imperial London<\/span><\/div>\n

360\u00b0 Interactive VR Emergency Simulations<\/h1>\n

Immersive branching 360\u00b0 VR scenarios for emergency medicine \u2014 built in-house and embedded across the MBBS curriculum at Imperial London. The first medical school in the UK to use VR as part of its clinical training programme.<\/p>\n

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Launched<\/div>\n
2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Students reached<\/div>\n
700+<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Scenarios<\/div>\n
7<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Status<\/div>\n
Curriculum-embedded<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Overview<\/h2>\n

In 2022, Imperial College London became the first medical school in the UK<\/strong> to use virtual reality as a formal part of its clinical training curriculum. The 360\u00b0 Interactive VR Emergency Simulations project was developed entirely in-house \u2014 a collaboration between the Faculty of Medicine and the Digital Media Lab (DML) \u2014 to address a persistent gap in undergraduate medical education: most students reach graduation without ever having been present at or managed an acute emergency.<\/p>\n

The scenarios use 360-degree filmed footage of acted-out clinical emergencies, delivered through VR headsets. Students are immersed in a realistic ward environment and prompted with multiple-choice questions at decision points \u2014 creating branching pathways that follow different outcomes depending on the choices made. Each scenario runs 10\u201315 minutes, with a 10-second response window per question to replicate the time pressure of clinical decision-making.<\/p>\n

The project piloted in May and June 2022 with final-year students and was fully integrated into the MBBS curriculum by autumn 2022. Since then, the library has grown from the original two scenarios to seven scenarios<\/strong>, now embedded across multiple years and specialties. A desktop version runs in parallel for students unable to attend in person.<\/p>\n

“As a medical student you are never put in a position where you are in a team resuscitating a patient who has had a cardiac arrest. But after you graduate you have to do it, so there is a big gap between preparedness and practice in medicine that we have to grapple with.” \u2014 Professor Amir Sam, Head of Imperial College School of Medicine<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Project at a Glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Launched<\/td>\nMay 2022 (pilot) \u00b7 Curriculum-embedded autumn 2022<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Status<\/td>\nActive \u2014 curriculum-embedded, ongoing development<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scenarios<\/td>\n7 scenarios \u2014 cardiac arrest, life-threatening asthma, upper GI bleed, DKA, dying patient, angry family<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Students reached<\/td>\n700+ students across the MBBS cohort<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Technology<\/td>\n360\u00b0 filmed scenarios \u00b7 Branching MCQ \u00b7 Meta Quest headsets \u00b7 Desktop fallback \u00b7 Built in Unreal Engine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Built by<\/td>\nDigital Media Lab (DML), Imperial College London \u2014 Thomas White (DML Lead)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Funding<\/td>\nHealth Education England<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Awards<\/td>\nReal IT Transformation of the Year 2021 (real-it-awards.com) \u00b7 Gartner Eye on Innovation Award for Education \u2014 Finalist, Nov 2022<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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Technology & Approach<\/h2>\n

Each scenario is built using 360-degree filmed footage of professionally acted clinical emergencies \u2014 placing students inside the scene rather than watching from outside it. At key decision points, actors break the fourth wall and address the student directly, presenting a clinical question with a 10-second response window. The student’s choice determines which branch plays next, allowing them to experience the consequences of both correct and incorrect decisions in real time.<\/p>\n

The branching interaction layer is built in Unreal Engine, developed in-house by Imperial’s Digital Media Lab. Scenarios are designed to run entirely offline \u2014 a deliberate technical requirement allowing deployment in any teaching space without dependency on network connectivity. A desktop version of each scenario runs in parallel for students who cannot access a headset session.<\/p>\n

The full production pipeline \u2014 filming, branching interaction design, and delivery \u2014 is maintained entirely within Imperial’s Digital Media Lab, keeping the project’s technical infrastructure institutional rather than dependent on external vendors. This allows scenarios to be updated or replaced when clinical guidelines change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Team & Collaborators<\/h2>\n

Dr Risheka Walls<\/strong> \u2014 Consultant, Charing Cross Hospital \u00b7 Digital Development Lead, Imperial School of Medicine \u00b7 Clinical and academic lead throughout<\/p>\n

Adrian Cowell<\/strong> \u2014 Innovation Lead, Faculty of Medicine \u00b7 Production and interaction design lead<\/p>\n

Thomas White<\/strong> \u2014 Digital Media Lab Lead, Imperial College London \u00b7 Technical development and delivery<\/p>\n

Professor Amir H. Sam<\/strong> \u2014 Head of Imperial College School of Medicine \u00b7 Consultant Physician, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust<\/p>\n

James McVeigh, Wang A, Priyanka Nageswaran, Tunav Sehgal, Stefan Staykov, Paul Basett, Daniel Mitelpunkt<\/strong> \u2014 Contributing team members and co-authors on published research<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Research & Publications<\/h2>\n

BMC Medicine \u00b7 2024 \u00b7 Vol. 22(1), p.222<\/strong>
\nVirtual reality as an engaging and enjoyable method for delivering emergency clinical simulation training: a prospective, interventional study of medical undergraduates<\/em>
\nWalls R, Nageswaran P, Cowell A, Sehgal T, White T, McVeigh J, Staykov S, Basett P, Mitelpunkt D, Sam AH
\nA prospective interventional study (n=116) confirming VR simulation produces significantly higher engagement and enjoyment than desktop-based simulation \u2014 with measurable differences in heart rate and eye-tracking attention. 29 citations.<\/p>\n

Endocrine Abstracts \u00b7 2023 \u00b7 Vol. 94<\/strong>
\nFixing black holes in traditional clinical training: 360\u00b0 virtual reality emergency simulations<\/em>
\nWalls R, McVeigh J, Wang A, Cowell A, Shawcroft T, White T, Ganea C, Trojani G, Miller K, Davis P, Mitelpunkt D, Sam AH<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Press Coverage<\/h2>\n

Evening Standard<\/strong> \u2014 London university becomes first to use virtual reality to train doctors in emergency situations<\/a> \u00b7 1 November 2022<\/p>\n

iNews<\/strong> \u2014 Virtual emergencies: One university using VR to train medical students for cardiac arrests<\/a><\/p>\n

BBC London<\/strong> \u2014 Video report on Imperial’s 360\u00b0 VR emergency training<\/a><\/p>\n

The MDU<\/strong> \u2014 This is what it’s like inside an emergency medicine VR simulator<\/a><\/p>\n

France 1<\/strong> \u2014 TV coverage of the project (via YouTube)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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