Vein blood sampling is a method of mass blood sampling that involves drawing blood from a vein for blood type discrimination, confirmation of various physiological indicators, disease diagnosis, etc.; it is the most commonly used blood sampling method. An important aspect of vein blood sampling is the search for the exact location of the vein for insertion of the syringe to draw blood. This is influenced by obesity as well as skin and blood vessel conditions in the patient and the experience of the clinical technologist, nurse, and resident who performs the blood sampling. Frequent practice is required to effectively perform blood sampling techniques. However, due to the many limitations of the practice room or laboratory, there is a problem of using only a limited environment and model for clinical practice. As a result, many medical educational institutions have situations in which only fragmentary clinical practices are performed, and it is difficult to practice many blood sampling skills, so they do not provide enough experience to understand the actual skill field. In this paper, we propose a virtual-reality-based vein blood sampling simulator that allows the practice of blood sampling techniques without limitation. The proposed vein blood sampling simulator can operate a 3D model related to vein blood sampling using an HMD controller and a haptic device in a virtual space for vein blood sampling practice by wearing an HMD (head-mounted display). Vein blood sampling can also be practiced through interaction with the patient 3D model. In addition, the effectiveness of a simulator developed for dental students was verified, and as a result of the verification, the potential of the proposed vein blood sampling simulator was confirmed.

Echocardiography is a medical examination that uses ultrasound to assess and diagnose the structure and function of the cardiac. Through the use of ultrasound waves, this examination allows medical professionals to create visualizations of the cardiac muscle, enabling them to diagnose and monitor conditions such as cardiac diseases, abnormalities, and functional disorders. An echocardiogram plays a crucial role in the early detection and diagnosis of various cardiac issues such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, valvular cardiac disease, and myocardial hypertrophy. It significantly contributes to determining treatment and management strategies. To achieve accurate disease diagnosis and develop appropriate treatment plans through echocardiography, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of proper probe usage, the precise acquisition of echocardiographic images, and the ability to interpret various echocardiographic examinations such as two-dimensional, M-mode, Doppler, etc. To enhance the skills required for echocardiography, medical educational institutions conduct theoretical classes, practical sessions using patient models, and clinical practice sessions with actual patients. However, issues such as inadequate practical adaptation due to theory-centric education, limitations in practical opportunities due to insufficient practice equipment, ethical or safety concerns arising during clinical practice, and a lack of educators leading to insufficient feedback, are currently being encountered. Hence, there is a need for new educational methods that can address the existing challenges in echocardiography education. In this paper, as part of these efforts, we propose a virtual reality-based immersive simulator for practical echocardiography training. The proposed echocardiography simulator allows users to explore a virtual echocardiography examination space by wearing a head-mounted display (HMD). This simulator consists of 3D virtual space models, interactive models manipulated by interaction devices, and 3D patient models containing normal or abnormal anatomical cardiac models. Using interactive devices such as HMD controllers and haptic devices, users can manipulate 3D models related to echocardiography within the simulator and interact with 3D patient models containing normal or abnormal anatomical cardiac models, allowing for the practice of echocardiography examinations. Ultimately, a performance evaluation of the developed immersive virtual reality simulator and usability validation targeting medical university students were conducted. The evaluation and validation results confirmed the potential efficacy of the proposed echocardiography VR simulator.

Maxillofacial reconstruction surgery involves restoring bones or skeletal structures in areas such as the mouth, jaw, and face using bones like the iliac crest and fibula. This surgery requires a high level of difficulty and precision, necessitating extensive practice and accurate 3D model simulations. However, due to limitations in training environments, opportunities for sufficient practice are restricted, and the precision of simulations may be compromised by the limitations of existing tools. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a maxillofacial reconstruction surgery simulator utilizing virtual reality technology. The proposed method allows users to explore a virtual space through a head-mounted display, where they can visualize, navigate, and manipulate bone models (move and rotate) using the joystick and buttons of a controller, as well as perform resection operations. Additionally, to verify the effectiveness of the simulator, performance evaluation is conducted through frame per second and resource usage analysis, usability testing is performed via questionnaires with dental students, and accuracy validation is carried out for the reconstruction models. The results of each evaluation method are analyzed to confirm the utility and potential of the proposed simulator.

Vein blood sampling is one of the methods of mass blood sampling, and is an act of drawing blood from a vein for blood type discrimination, confirmation of various physiological indicators, disease diagnosis, and the like, and is the most commonly used blood sampling method. An important point in vein blood sampling is to search for the exact location of the vein and insert the blood sampling. This is influenced by the patient's obesity, skin and blood vessel conditions, and the experience of the clinical technologist, nurse, and resident who performs the blood sampling. It is required to perform blood sampling technique practice. However, due to many limitations of the practice room or laboratory, there is a problem of using only a limited environment and model for clinical practice. As a result, many medical educational institutions have situations in which only fragmentary clinical practices are performed, and it is difficult to per-form a large number of blood sampling skills practices, so they do not provide enough experience to understand the actual skill field. In this paper, we propose a method for developing a virtual reality-based vein blood sampling simulator to practice a large number of blood sampling techniques without restrictions. The proposed vein blood sampling simulator can operate a 3D model related to vein blood sampling using HMD Controller and Haptic in a virtual space for vein blood sampling practice by wearing an HMD (Head mounted display), and can perform vein blood sampling practice through interaction with the patient 3D model. there is. In addition, the effectiveness of the simulator developed for dental students was verified, and as a result of the verification, the potential of the proposed vein blood sampling simulator was confirmed.

Simulation-based training is widely adopted in medical education to improve procedural competence. In blood-related procedures such as arterial blood gas analysis (ABGA), blood culture, and transfusion, repeated clinical practice is constrained by safety concerns, equipment costs, and instructor dependence. To address these limitations, a virtual reality (VR) and haptic integrated simulation system was developed for Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)-based training. The system, implemented in Unity and operated through a Meta Quest headset and haptic device, integrates visual, tactile, and interactive modules to guide learners through standardized OSCE procedures while providing immersive environments with real-time feedback and automated performance tracking. A total of 50 healthcare students participated in an IRB-approved evaluation covering three OSCE scenarios. The assessment included both a technical performance test and a post-simulation user survey. During the technical evaluation, system logs were analyzed for frame rate (FPS), haptic response rate, and CPU/GPU utilization. The system maintained stable operation with average FPS values between 60 and 70 and no observable latency, confirming reliable synchronization between the visual and haptic components. Survey results showed positive responses exceeding 60% in key categories such as clinical applicability and learning effectiveness, with fewer than 10% negative ratings. Reliability analysis confirmed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.958) and moderate interrater agreement (Fleiss’ κ=0.482). Overall, the developed VR and haptic system demonstrated stable performance, strong user acceptance, and high educational potential, providing a realistic and repeatable training platform for OSCE-based blood-related procedures.

This study developed a virtual reality (VR) simulator for training the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) procedure using Leap Motion-based hand tracking and the Unity engine, and evaluated its interaction performance, task-level outcomes within the simulator, and usability. Built on a 3D anatomical model, the system provides a pre-clinical practice environment for realistic syringe manipulation and visually guided needle insertion, enabling repeated rehearsal of the procedural workflow. Interaction stability was assessed using participant-level gesture recognition rates and input latency. Usability was evaluated via a questionnaire addressing ease of use, cognitive load, and perceived educational usefulness. The results indicated participant-level mean gesture recognition rates of 88.8–90.5% and mean response latencies of approximately 64–66 ms. In usability testing (n = 40), the item related to perceived procedural skill improvement received the highest score (4.25/5.0). Because this study did not include controlled comparisons with conventional training or objective measures of clinical competency transfer, the findings should be interpreted as preliminary evidence of technical feasibility and learner-perceived usefulness within a simulated setting. Controlled comparative studies using objective learning outcomes are warranted.