“Ultimately, we will be looking to save lives, I think, within one to two years that that would be a reality.”

If you are injured in a disaster zone, it is critical that you receive medical care as urgently as possible. But what if the environment is not safe for medics to enter? Either because it is a war zone or because there are hazardous materials around? That’s where AMRC’s VR technology can help.

The Advanced Medical Robotics Centre at the University of Sheffield, UK has created pioneering robotics technology to get medics into difficult-to-access areas to triage patients. Using medical telexistence (MediTel) technology, medics can operate a remote controlled robot to reach the patients, and wear a virtual reality headset which places them in that environment. The robots are equipped with medical devices which allow the medics to carry out checks including taking the patient's pulse, administering pain relief and palpitating their abdomen. Meanwhile the headset is so realistic that it feels like the user is there on the ground, with the view from the robot moving in real time as they move their heads. AMRC is hoping to use this technology in the next 1-2 years to save lives in dangerous environments.

In this episode we head to Sheffield to visit AMRC’s Digital Design Lab to meet David King, who demonstrates how realistic their MediTel VR technology is.

Find out more about AMRC here

Your host is Paul Haimes from industrial software company PTC.

Episodes are released bi-weekly. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.

Third Angle is an 18Sixty production for PTC. Executive producer is Jacqui Cook. Sound design and editing by Ollie Guillou. Location recording by Helen Lennard. And music by Rowan Bishop.