Local Tech Wire

RALEIGH, N.C. – and Duke University School of Medicine are getting even more serious about medical training using virtual reality and 3D technology.

The Raleigh-based firm, which focuses on so-called serious games technology for use in education and training, and the medical school worked together to develop a first-person video game () for use in medical education. On Thursday, the two said they would partner on efforts to further develop training tools.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Virtual Heroes and Duke will focus on:

• Healthcare team communication training

• Medical device and pharma product education

• Patient education

• Medical recertification

• Clinical trial education

• Continuing medical education courses

• Healthcare quality assurance training

“This partnership brings together two world-class organizations with complementary resources and a shared commitment to advancing and improving medical education and training,” said Jeffrey Taekman, assistant dean for educational technology at Duke.

“The Virtual Heroes team has deep experience, a state-of-the-art HumanSim technology platform, access to all the resources of Applied Research Associates, and an exciting vision for growth,” he added. “We are pleased to be partnering with them to develop what we believe will be the next generation of sophisticated tools to enhance learning among medical students and help students and trainees hone their clinical skills.”

HumanSim is Virtual Heroes’ proprietary 3D technology that utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 developed by Cary-based Epic Games. Unreal is one of the world’s most sophisticated and popular engines used in videogame development.

“Duke is bringing many things to this relationship, including their reputation for excellence, the Duke Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, clinical and regulatory expertise, research expertise, and human factors engineering expertise,” said Jerry Heneghan, managing director at Virtual Heroes.

Virtual Heroes is part of Advanced Learning Technologies.

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