It looks like a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie: A young woman in nursing scrubs stands in the center of a sterile room, delicately going through the motions of what appears to be a surgical procedure.
But this is no hospital room, and there is no patient. The nurse-in-training is practicing the delicate task of inserting a catheter, only she’s doing it in thin air with the aid of virtual reality goggles and black haptic (sensory) gloves.
A Boise State University team of nursing and gaming professionals developed this wearable technology that allows nursing students to see and touch objects in a virtual environment, allowing them to practice complex medical simulations at their own pace in a video game-like setting.
