#interview UbiSim revolutionizes nursing training with virtual reality

UbiSim is an #EdTech startup founded in July 2016 in Lausanne, dedicated to virtual reality training for nursing. It is part of the Swiss EdTech Collider, Switzerland's first collaborative space dedicated to ambitious entrepreneurs transforming education and learning through technology. UbiSim is also one of the winners of the intense 11-week acceleration program of venturelabKickstart Accelerator, in collaboration withEPFL. The team was awarded CHF 25,000 in funding at the end of November 2017. We spoke to Gauthier Dubruel, co-founder and director of sales & partnerships, about this pioneering and visionary project.   

Alp ICT: How did the idea of virtual reality training come about?

Gauthier Dubruel: I met Florian Brutsche (co-founder & technical & product director, EPFL alumnus, nldr) and Antoine Gustin (in charge of 3D and design) in China at a professional event on virtual reality. We shared a passion for the possibilities offered by immersive technologies in the field of education, and our profiles complemented each other well enough to launch a concrete project. We worked together for several years, developing virtual reality training tools for a number of international companies. After meeting a number of healthcare professionals, we realized that existing medical training solutions, such as mannequin simulations, were effective, but not scalable and very costly, making practical training opportunities difficult. An alternative solution had to be found.  

Alp ICT: How did you go about building the project?

Gauthier Dubruel: We went to meet Swiss players in the healthcare field, including the CHUV, the HUG, the Institut and the Haute Ecole de Santé La Source in Lausanne, with whom we had fruitful discussions. It was through these conversations that we identified a clear need for simulation and practical training in nursing, particularly with the team at La Source, whose DNA is innovation. We share the same vision of using the virtual reality tool for the practice of procedural training in nursing. April 2016 launched the exploration phase; at the end of 2016 we entered into agreement; 2017 was truly the product construction phase.

It was in close collaboration with students and teachers at La Source that we developed our first scenario: blood transfusion. Thanks to our regular work sessions as part of an optional module, we worked together to develop a tool that met the needs of the students. Being in contact with users is essential when setting up a new medium. Since this is a training tool for students and teachers, it is built with them, openly but within a strict pedagogical framework. 

Alp ICT: What is your solution and what is its added value?

Gauthier Dubruel: Our team identifies procedural training scenarios that can benefit all institutions and hospitals. In training today, "serious games" work well, but most of the time they are not very engaging, not very flexible, and not very or not at all scalable.

At UbiSim, we develop standardized, scalable scenarios that meet a universal need. For example, we have just completed our first scenario on blood transfusion according to Swiss protocols, and we are currently working on the second phase of the scenario, transfusion accidents.

For example, the difference in protocols between Switzerland and France is around 15% for this type of procedure. This small difference is very interesting, as it enables us to enrich the platform rapidly with new universal training scenarios, and to have a truly international impact. 

Alp ICT: What are the benefits of virtual reality for training?

Gauthier Dubruel: The two most disruptive aspects with a real impact on professional training in the healthcare sector are the following:

1. Decentralized training and accessibility to hands-on training: as a student and healthcare professional, you can train as many times as you like to reach the desired level on a procedure, which is not possible with current methods, whether mannequin simulation or role-playing, which require large infrastructures and teams. Virtual reality training is much more accessible, allowing you to practice until you become an expert in the procedure.
2. Broadening the scope of training: today, training in transfusion procedures is either no longer practised, as it is too expensive to set up, or it is practised infrequently and on simple, non-complex procedures. Indeed, it is sometimes impossible to recreate complex scenarios in simulation, due to lack of resources and human resources. With virtual reality, we can expand the number of applications and scenarios previously inaccessible in training. 

Alp ICT: Why did you choose the nursing sector?

Gauthier Dubruel: In Switzerland, there are 80 nurses for every doctor. This is a very large and growing community, which is taking on more and more responsibilities, as in Spain, where nurses are starting to prescribe. So there are many training needs. What's more, simulation is traditionally very present in nursing, compared to other verticals you find in healthcare and the more universal training needs.

Nursing is the first vertical we're working on. Our primary focus is on initial and continuing training, and we are also looking at other areas of training in the healthcare professions. 

Alp ICT: When will your immersive training course be available?

Gauthier Dubruel: We'll be rolling out the first UbiSim training stations in Q1 2018 at La Source and a Paris institute.

Partnerships with other institutes in France have also been finalized. In particular, we are working on adapting the blood transfusion scenario to French protocols, and are already studying three other scenarios with our partner institutes in Switzerland and France.

Our priority is to ensure that the solution is both effective and fun, in order to best meet the needs and expectations of students and healthcare professionals. By maximizing opportunities and therefore time dedicated to practical training, UbiSim helps develop self-confidence and better mastery of care, bringing real added value to the training of millions of nurses worldwide .