VR Education Holdings PLC’s (LON:VRE) ENGAGE platform has been selected as the basis for Life-saving Instruction for Emergencies (LIFE), a virtual reality (VR) medical training app for doctors and nurses.
LIFE, which was developed by VRE in partnership with the University of Oxford, allows healthcare workers to enter a computer-generated hospital through their smartphones or a VR headset so they can practice emergency procedures on virtual patients.
READ: VR Education soars as ENGAGE platform selected for Facebook’s Oculus software vendor programme
VRE said the app can “dramatically improve outcomes” for healthcare in low resource settings, where simulating emergencies can be difficult.
LIFE will launch today at the Council of International Neonatal Nurses (COINN) conference in Nairobi, Kenya, with the smartphone version of the app to be rolled out across the country through partnerships with nursing schools and other professional medical organisations.
“Supporting LIFE on a pro bono basis will increase awareness of our ENGAGE platform with medical professionals and students which we are confident will lead to enquiries from medical trainers seeking to host their own applications on the ENGAGE platform on a paid basis", said VRE chief executive David Whelan.
Analysts at Shore Capital, the company’s house broker, said VRE was “continuing to build a strong brand” with showcase VR experience while also launching apps such as LIFE to “deliver on the commercial potential of ENGAGE”.
In late-morning trading on Thursday, VRE’s shares were steady at 7p.
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