For many doctors, being able to have a compassionate but frank discussion with a newly diagnosed patient is one of the most difficult parts of the job. Medical Cyberworlds, a Madison, Wisconsin firm, developed interactive software called MPathic-VR that lets medical students and clinicians practice difficult interactions.
The software actually looks and listens to the user in order to produce a natural conversational flow with a virtual patient on the screen. As an example, the patient in the video below gets quite emotional at a poor presentation of a diagnosis, but with proper demeanor and respect given, she is calmed down significantly.
Researchers at University of Michigan published results in journal Patient Education and Counseling of a study evaluating how MPathic-VR is helpful in developing both verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
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“We found that virtual human simulation was an engaging and effective tool to teach medical students advanced communication skills and, very importantly, that skills in the simulation transferred into a more realistic clinical situation,” in a U of M statement said lead study author Frederick Kron, M.D., adjunct researcher in the department of family medicine at the U-M Medical School and founder of Medical Cyberworlds.
Check out this video of the software in action: