Medical Simulation & Training on Display at Tech Grove Innovation Harvest Day

By Christa Yates, Staff Writer

The Central Florida Tech Grove hosted an Innovation Harvest Day on July 18^th. The event showcased solutions in medical modeling, simulation, and training in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHA).

“One of [Tech Grove’s] primary focuses with this event was to bring in some new faces,” said Carol Ann Logue, director of the Central Florida Tech Grove. “We wanted to shine a light on some smaller organizations and help increase their visibility in the modeling, simulation, and training (MS&T) community we have here in Orlando.”

This year’s Innovation Harvest Day focused on the medical industry, featuring exhibitors who demonstrated a variety of technologies from first responder training and preparedness to innovative patient care. “You see a lot of technologies focused on training techniques,” said a GTS representative. “We’re focused more on mental preparedness. Many first responders know how to perform life saving techniques but are unprepared for the smell of a fire or blood. You could call it ‘immersion,’ but we call it ‘simulated practical experience.’”

This emphasis on immersion and “practical experience” carried over to a handful of exhibitors who collaborated to put together a joint demo. In this demo, which was put together in less than a month according to the exhibitors, trainees enter a blue room landscape and don a virtual reality (VR) headset while being walked through a scenario on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

According to David Spence, founder and president of BloodStone Division, it is not just AR or VR, it’s XR that utilizes multiple technologies. He went on to explain we shouldn’t be worried about the digital twin or replicating real tools in a virtual space as that’s not realistic. Instead, BloodStone and their collaborators put together an environment where real equipment could be handled by trainees in order to perform tasks. “Even with the headset, you can see your hands, the patient, your tools, and your trainer. It’s about recreating the environment,” Spence explained.

Innovation Harvest Days are quarterly events that feature specific themes, such as medical simulation, cybersecurity, energy, and more. The next Innovation Harvest Day will be held in early November.