IVF VR training simulator

About the project

The world's first domestically developed IVF training software using virtual reality headsets has been completed, helping professionals learning artificial insemination prepare faster and better for their tasks. As an alternative to VR, the solution also runs in a browser on a laptop, allowing the entire process involving egg cells and sperm to be practiced anywhere, whether in a university classroom or a biochemist's living room. Created as a ten-month development by ARworks, the IVF Sim PRO virtual simulator is now being introduced, providing enormous help in IVF learning and teaching. As the age of childbearing shifts later, artificial insemination is playing an increasingly larger role, and more and more couples need help fulfilling their dreams. Accordingly, this sector is undergoing massive growth worldwide, which also means an increasing need for professionals capable of performing the IVF procedure using specialized microscopes. ARworks' software simulator supports the training and practice of these professionals using the most advanced, cutting-edge technology. Web page: ivfsimpro.com Demo video: https://youtu.be/si9R3ivEqI8 Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_1091goPd0oTYF0uMDD9DBQnKzAxdh8R?usp=sharing After subscribing, the application can be downloaded/run from the links below Web app link: https://arworks.hu/download/ivfwebgl/ Oculus Quest Store link https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/3578853542220471/ (the application is located at the bottom of the page, under App Lab) IVF Sim Pro can be used in two ways – first, downloaded onto an Oculus Quest virtual reality headset and entering ARworks' virtual IVF laboratory through it. Second, completely equivalently, simply using a computer's internet browser. The simulator user arrives in a virtual, 3-dimensional IVF laboratory, where all the equipment needed for the entire procedure can be found. The most important of these is the microscope equipped with special manipulators, whose parts and functions are also shown separately, enlarged, by the application. Leaning toward the virtual microscope on the table, a petri dish appears, containing carrier medium droplets representing the first work phase. Among these droplets, one must select a randomly swimming sperm cell appearing before our eyes, rotate it in the correct direction, and draw it into the suction needle. At this point, one of the simulator's key advantages becomes clear: among the sperm cells, deformed sperm also appear in random numbers and locations, which naturally cannot be used. In real-world training, it is not possible, or only very difficult, to demonstrate the 30+ types of damaged sperm found in textbooks, but this poses no problem in the virtual simulator. The learner must then carry out the process, slow down the selected sperm, break its tail, and draw it back into the needle. The image seen throughout matches exactly what is experienced in reality: the needles, the sperm, and the egg cells look just as they would under a real microscope. The next step is to select a healthy egg cell from among several that appear – here too, the professional must choose from a random number and type of deformed egg cells, for example ones with a missing or damaged polar body. If the learner makes a mistake anywhere during the process, the software stops, informs them of what happened, and allows for correction. After this, under the virtual microscope, the artificial insemination itself takes place – the sperm in the injection needle must be delivered into the egg cell held in place by the holding needle. This requires attention to the position of the egg cell, the location of the polar body, and how far the professional inserts the needle into the egg cell. Then, by pressing the VR controller or the appropriate computer key, the selected healthy sperm is delivered and fertilization occurs. In the real process, a few days later; in the IVF simulator, the biopsy is performed immediately afterward. A sample must be taken under the microscope from the already dividing germ cell, made up of identical parts, so that genetic testing can be carried out on it. Throughout the process, learners are first guided step by step by instructions, specifying what needs to be done at each point and providing feedback if something is done incorrectly. In a later phase of learning, this function of the digital simulator can be turned off, and then – just as in reality – the professional is left on their own and must carry out the process based on their own knowledge. A particularly useful feature – as also happens in reality – is that the microscope view can also be seen on the control monitor standing on the virtual laboratory table, and the artificial insemination can even be performed while looking at this. The professional IVFSimPro application can be used either with an Oculus Quest Virtual Reality headset or on a computer – in the latter case, no special download is needed, as the training software works as a website with Chrome, Edge, or Safari. The solution is available through a subscription model, with separate packages for individual and institutional users. The IVF Sim Pro software was designed and developed by ARworks, a VR and AR developer with 10 years of experience, under the professional guidance of The IVF Company clinic based in Dubai.