The SimMed experience: medical education on interactive tabletops

We present SimMed, a novel tool for medical education that allows medical students to diagnose and treat a simulated patient in real-time. The students assume the roles of doctors, collaborating as they interact with the patient. To achieve immersion and support complex interactions for gaining procedural knowledge, the hybrid user interface combines elements of real-time Virtual Reality (VR) with multitouch input. On the one hand, SimMed features a simulated, life-sized patient that is rendered and reacts in real-time. On the other hand, a more conventional touch input interface allows access to a large variety of medical procedures and tools.