The Holographic Standardized Patient

The current pandemic has revealed in-person simulation training and evaluation is vulnerable to disruption, and alternatives are needed which allow remote evaluation. The recently developed Microsoft Hololens headset device allows interactable holograms to be inserted into a user's workspace (mixed reality) - permitting the augmentation of existing clinical and training spaces with holographic (i.e. virtual) patients via the prototype HoloSIM software. This study is the first known research initiative aiming to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of mixed reality for acute medicine training and assessment at a distance.

Space, time, personnel, pandemic, and cost constraints limit opportunities for high-fidelity simulation exercises for post-graduate trainees at Sunnybrook. By developing and demonstrating the effectiveness of this new training modality, increased simulation exercises will lead to a higher quality education experience, better functioning teams, and better patient outcomes.