ISU-led team using VR technology for Narcan training

NORMAL (25News Now) - In an emergency, seconds count. An Illinois State University-led team developed a tool they believe will make opioid overdose response training more accessible. So when the time comes, someone is ready.

With the help of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and OSF Healthcare, ISU alum Matthew Kase created an Apple Vision Pro prototype app to help people train to reverse opioid overdoses.

Through the headset, a person can see a virtual dummy, receive guidance from an instructor, check for signs of an overdose, and practice administering Narcan.

The app also rehearses scenarios such as what to do if the first dose of Narcan fails or when someone regains consciousness.

Director of Emerging Technologies for Instruction and Research at ISU’s Office of Technology Solutions Roy Magnuson helped Kase with the project. He hopes this technology could supplement in-person training, making it more accessible.

“[The headsets] are available at off hours, especially, [for example], a police department,” Magnuson said. ‘[If] the night shift wanted to do the training at two in the morning, sure, you can do that, right? You don’t have to wait for the mandated eight-hour [training day] on a Saturday.”

Magnuson said VR technology can uniquely create a powerful and memorable experience using audio, visual, and haptic learning.

“There is something really magical about moving your body, hearing things, and seeing things, and when you touch something, something happens,” Magnuson said. “There is something about VR and the embodiment and your lizard brain kind of like remembers that you did it. It feels very physical.“

While the Apple Vision Pro is expensive, it and the app can be reused, potentially saving harm reduction groups time and money. Magnuson argued it could be cheaper than in-person training, which accrues costs for travel and time.

The app is being tested at other universities right now and the team is gathering data to learn its best uses and how to improve it.

“Do you feel like this is a one-to-one replacement [for in-person training] or would this even be useful as a refresher,” Magnuson asked. “Does it solve that problem?”

Magnuson said they hope to get it into the hands of harm reduction groups soon. The app is not yet available to the public.

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