Development of an application for performing the subclavian central venous access on neonates

The Central Venous Access (CVA) is an invasive technique practiced in adults, children and neonates for supplying necessary nutritional solutions or medication. The procedure is mastered through practice and its incorrect or poor execution may lead to health risks such as infections, pneumothorax and even death. To develop the required skills for performing this procedure, teachers and students rely on common and traditional tools such as books, videos and multimedia content, complementing when available with hands-on practices on CVA simulators, however, the skills are fully developed through practice by performing the procedure on patients when sufficient knowledge has been proved and certified. This project addresses the limitations of traditional means of study for CVA by presenting an application for learning and practicing the subclavian procedure in neonates by presenting three modules: informative, evaluation and exploration, for assessing the student progress, while providing feedback in the form of scores and badges. The application uses virtual 3D models, animation and hypertext for providing context while allowing the exploration of the scenario. The goal of this application is to serve as a complimentary studying tool for the development of knowledge and skills related to the CVA technique with virtual reality.