The activities at the Centre are project-oriented. Support for clinical research projects is provided to complement the skills and capabilities of the partners involved, bridging the gap between the latest technologies on the one hand and clinical needs and constraints on the other. Over time, the activities of the CMV will be increasingly characterized by ever more large-scale integrated projects.
Clinical research
Virtual reality and dyspnoea (respiratory disorders)
Continuing a long-standing collaboration between the Division of Pneumology and the EPFL on the basic control and experience of breathing, this project applies virtual reality (VR) to the diagnosis and therapy of respiratory disorders.
It includes a mobile VR breathing intervention developed with MindMaze SA, evaluated in a preliminary clinical study led by the Division of Pneumology.
Patient care
Virtual reality for anxiety related to MRI (radiology)
Developed by EPFL in collaboration with Prof. Karl-Olof Lövblad, Head of the Division of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, this project aims to alleviate claustrophobia induced by MRI, a major problem worldwide. Based on an innovative immersive virtual reality technique developed by EPFL and the Campus Biotech VR facility, we are piloting this technology with MRI patients at the HUG.
Medical training
In collaboration with OramaVR, MIRALab and the University of Geneva, this InnoSuisse proposal features a virtual agent embedded in a VR medical training platform. The objective is to identify and analyze the behaviour of the immersed trainee and provide real-time personalized feedback, evaluation and recommendations, just like an actual surgical instructor.