Education Applications
MPathic-VR
Doctors are some of the most respected professionals in the world today. This respect is well deserved as they spend many, many, years training for a position where they have direct influence over the life and death of other people. An important aspect of this training is not technical, but still equally important, is the ability to communicate effectively with patients. A new system called MPathic-VR by Medical Cyberworlds and the University of Michigan is changing the game for training empathetic communication for doctors. This system allows doctors-in-training to practice giving bad news to virtual patients who assesses their body language, facial expressions and communication strategies, to produce real-time responses from the virtual patient and provide personalized suggestions based on the new doctor’s strengths or weaknesses. By being able to practice this skill without harming the emotional health of real patients, the doctors demonstratedly improved their interpersonal communication skills. With poor clinician communication skills possibly contributing to lower levels of patient satisfaction, poorer health outcomes, and higher risk of complaints and malpractice claims, systems like MPathic-VR could revolutionize Med School around the world. [25]
ViTA DMF
There are millions of people in the world with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and while extremely capable, most have challenges landing jobs due to inaccessible interviews. One man, Sergio Cano, a 29 year-old from Florida says “I was nervous that I would fidget or that it would take me a long time to answer questions, especially if the manager asked me something I didn’t understand,”. These are common worries of people particularly those with ASD. USC's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), along with the Dan Marino Foundation (DMF), have developed the Virtual Interactive Training Agent, or ViTA DMF, to help combat these struggles. This system is full of different virtual characters that are of varied races, genders, and personality types. Students at the Marino campus, DMF’s postsecondary school in Fort Lauderdale for young adults with ASD and other developmental disabilities, like Cano. can find themselves facing easy and likable questioners or hard-nosed and unforgiving interrogators. The ability to practice interviewing with a variety of people in a lower-stakes environment as been shown to reduce stress and give more success to people who often struggle with social cues. The ViTA DMF is now becoming available to other non-profits and schools around the country and many are hoping to use this new technology to teach strong life skills that will lead to future success. [26] [27]