Hazel Tang A science writer with data background and an interest in the current affair, culture, and arts; a no-med from an (almost) all-med family. Follow on Twitter.
The solution in brief
Embodied Labs offer customers VR training that lets health care providers step into the perspective of the patient or the perspective of the care team. They also came third in the AIMed 2017 Shark Tank Competition.
Their programmes combine a film with different kinds of interaction run through a game engine, and can be about embodying the perspective of a patient who has a complicated health condition or is receiving end of life care.
Carrie Shaw, Founder & CEO, Embodied Labs
“The question of my thesis research was, “If healthcare providers could step in to the patient perspective would this make them more effective providers?”
“I never intended to found a company, and I didn’t even know about virtual reality, but that question was on my mind during the decade I was caring for my mom, who had early onset Alzheimer’s.
“It would take me a really long time to work with my mom and figure out how to cope with different elements of her Alzheimer’s disease. She was having trouble making words and it took many years to discover how I could communicate with her.
“I’d always wonder if there was a way that healthcare providers could gain the understanding I had gained in a shorter time span.
“Our solution wasn’t ready in time for my mom’s care as she sadly passed away. I keep in touch with her care team though, as we became like family.
“Recently when I was home for Christmas I had them put on the headsets, and they all said the experience made them wish they had done things differently when caring for my mom.
“That’s the usual response when people try this technology, it brings them to a lot of realisations about how they should have provided care.”
Embodied Labs is suitable for:
- Doctor
- Nurse
- Home hospice team
- Social worker
- CNA (certified nursing assistant)
Where is Embodied Labs used?
- Long term care facilities
- Home health organisation sciences
- Health facilities that are training up the work force
- Academic institutions
What Embodied Labs provide?
They offer complete packages on a subscription basis or upfront payment. They provide the hardware and software, which includes Oculus Rift headset and a computer programme to run it.
Embodied Labs provide training, outreach, and education services. Subscribers get pre and post assessments, and typically an on-site trainer can be provided.
These training sessions can be counted as part of a teams required training hours.
Awards
3RD PLACE & $10,000 CASH PRIZE | uSens Developer Challenge, uSens, June 2017
1ST PLACE & $25,000 PRIZE | Creative Startups Accelerator, October 2016
1ST PLACE & $10,000 CASH PRIZE | Medical Empathy Hackathon, University of Southern California Center for Body Computing, October, 2016
Original interview in AIMed Magazine 02
Below video is the full AIMed 2017 Shark Tank competition. You can access all the videos from AIMed 2017 here.