In the field of biomedicine, laboratory practice is vital for providing students with hands-on experience with the equipment and tools used in an industrial setting. This exposure is crucial for their career development, and virtual reality (VR) is an effective way to implement it. By creating a virtual room equipped with the necessary tools, students can interact with them as if they were real instruments, allowing them to learn how to use them in a real-world scenario.
Given that biomedical engineering is constantly releasing new technology, the instruments used in laboratories can quickly become outdated compared to those used in industry. Simulating the use of up-to-date equipment in a virtual environment is an excellent solution for practicing without the risk of damaging real instruments. Students can learn how to use the equipment without running the risk of causing damage or harm, better preparing them for real-world scenarios. Additionally, virtual labs can be used by many students at the same time, providing each student with the opportunity to learn the working mechanisms of each instrument in-depth.
Virtual instrumentation is critical in biomedicine, with circuit breadboard and biomechanics being the primary lab topics studied. In a real-life laboratory, students learn to use a circuit schematic to build a breadboard circuit using a variety of tools such as benchtop power supplies, oscilloscopes, wires, and breadboards. Virtual reality is an excellent way to teach students how to build circuits actively, providing a realistic experience from the comfort of their own homes. Simulating the use of real tools and equipment in a virtual lab offers the same experience as a physical lab, but with greater accessibility and flexibility for more students to learn. Additionally, VR labs eliminate the errors that can occur in physical labs, such as breadboards developing short circuits over time, ensuring that students can continue experimenting without damaging equipment.
In biomechanical labs, motion capture systems are often used to capture human movement in various situations, improving performance and reducing the risk of injury. All the instruments used to analyze these movements can be recreated in a virtual lab, including different body sizes to gather more diverse data.
Virtual reality offers a host of possibilities, including reduced costs and greater accessibility for more users. It can be used to replace or complement physical labs, allowing for the recreation of any instrument in a 3D world. This technology gives users the ability to experiment with almost any subject, providing a powerful tool for education and training in biomedicine.
By Sofia Indira Calderón Alvarez
