RheumASim

In Germany, there is a severe lack of rheumatologists. In 2017, the German Society of Rheumatologists announced that twice as many doctors in that field are needed to ensure adequate medical care as are currently available. [1] One reason for this could be the abstractness of the topic, so that too few medical students decide to focus on this area.

In order to make this topic more understandable and attractive to students as well as to highlight the needs of patients, we are developing a simulator for Arthritis in Virtual Reality. We are using a HTC Vive [2] in combination with Senseglove [3] which can provide haptical feedback and force-restriction to create an immersive experience of what it is like to live with Arthritis. Everyday situations like grabbing a cup of coffee can become quite an obstacle without a proper medication. Therefore, different stages of the disease and treatment effects with the appropiate medication should be included.

The aim of the project is to give medical students a clearer picture of the disease Arthritis by means of a VR application. To achieve this, a prototype is developed over a period of one semester using agile development.

Team: Heidrun Hähnlein, Michelle Lemofouet, Jonas Petersen, Roshni Kotian, Sara Azad Jafarloo, Stefan Fischer
Partner: University Hospital – Rheumatology and Immunology

Scrum Master: Martin Ullrich