Immersive and Visionary Medical Technologies (IVMT) Program
The Immersive and Visionary Medical Technologies (IVMT) Program is a pioneering, collaborative effort uniting multiple institutions with the Center for Disaster Medicine. Bringing together leading experts in simulation training, virtual reality (VR) capabilities, disaster medicine, engineering, software development, VR equipment, education, psychological assessment, and research design and analysis, the program develops groundbreaking, scalable platforms for advanced training and experimentation. This innovative initiative is poised to shape the future of medical training and disaster preparedness.
The goals of this program are to:
- Advance Full Dive Virtual Reality (FDVR) and emerging IVMT as a training and experimentation platform for healthcare professionals and first responders;
- Leverage IVMT to further the response efficacy for disaster events;
- Collaborate with industry leaders across all sectors from the Department of Defense, government agencies, civilian organizations, and institutions of higher learning to further IVMT; and
- Conduct collaborative research studies to further the implementation and evaluation of IVMT.
FDVR is the combination of high-fidelity, state-of-the-art VR hardware such as VR headsets, Haptic bodysuits, haptic gloves, full-body, hand and retinal tracking, and a 360 treadmill (ability to walk and run in the simulated virtual environment) that fully integratsd in realistic immersive metaverse scenarios. Operators will have a multi-sensory experience almost indistinguishable from the real world.
Program Team
Natalie A. Nevins, D.O., M.S.H.P.E., FACOFP, FS, COL USAR, (Program Lead) has extensive experience in medical simulation training, research, operational combat casualty care and the evaluation of EI/EQ, hardiness and resilience.
Anthony J. LaPorta, MD, FACS, COL Ret, USAMC, has researched and published extensively in the areas of military and civilian trauma, disaster medicine and hyper-realistic simulation training.
Rosellen Roche, MD, PhD, FHEA, has expertise in mixed methods research as applied to minority populations in healthcare, disaster medicine and VR simulated technologies.
Stephanie F. Dailey, EdD, LPC, NCC, trained counselor specializing in disaster mental health and crisis intervention and has designed multiple evaluation projects.
Susannah Knust, PhD serves as the Director of the Research Transition Office (RTO), Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience (CMPN) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR).
Grace Brannan, PhD, research strategist and a leader in medical education, specializes in research design, statistical analysis, and data interpretation.
David Markenson, MD, MBA, Director, Center for Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College
Jim O'Connor, PhD, leader in innovative learning, pedagogical strategies and interprofessional education: cognitive psychologist.
Charles H. Dukes, MD, FAPA, COL USAR, aerospace psychiatrist with extensive experience in training and evaluation for care in austere environments.
Cristopher A. Young, DVM, MPH, Diplomate ACVPM, Professor of Practice, Auburn University, Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of the Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
John Schwartz, DO, MAJ(P), MC, FS, HMO, Group Surgeon, 2nd Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), US Army JFK Special Warfare Center and School / SOCoE
Alan Liu, PhD, Director of the VME Lab, Val G. Hemming Simulation Center at USUHS, has extensive expertise in military immersive reality technology and simulation.
Corporate Collaborations
Shiny Box Interactive creates industry leading XR (AR, VR and Mixed Reality) solutions leveraging more than a decade of AAA game development experience. Partnering with industry leading companies to create Immersive XR Training platforms has placed their team at the forefront of enterprise technology adoption and integration.
MACE Virtual Labs is a turnkey provider of commercial-grade Extended Reality (XR) hardware and software solutions for the Enterprise, Military, Entertainment, Healthcare and Education markets. MACE VL’s value-added services help our customers to design, develop, integrate, pilot and scale XR solutions across their organizations with an intense focus on delivering value, not just technology. As a value-added-reseller, MACE VL provides integrated hardware and software solutions and a strong network of Studio Partners who work with our customers to develop custom content for Immersive Learning, Simulations, Serious Gaming, and Customer Activation.
IOPEX LLC is partnering with industry to establish an Immersive Operational Experimentation (IOPEX)™ Program. The IOPEX Program involves doing distributed experiments in a cloud computing environment (Secret and Unclassified) that will allow civilian and military operators to take part from their home stations and selected demonstration facilities with 2D gaming or Virtual Reality (VR) clients. The program will also advance the use of Full Dive VR Units (FDVUs) that will give the IOPEX operators a multi-sensory experience almost indistinguishable from the real world. The IOPEX Program will eventually become a persistent distributed “full dive” VR environment allowing military and civilian clients to immerse themselves in crisis action scenarios and then decompose them to understand causality. In summary, the IOPEX program will establish a metaverse for experiencing and resolving crises in an alternate virtual reality…to anticipate and prevent or limit their occurrence in the real world.
