EVMS develops technology for teaching

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A new invention created in Hampton Roads is taking video games to a new and possibly life-saving level.

Eastern Virginia Medical School teamed up with SimIS, a high-tech simulation company in Portsmouth, to create Automated Intelligent Mentoring System (AIMS).

It's the exact same camera used for the X-Box gaming system, but tweaked to create a program inventors hope will put doctors and nurses at the top of their game.

Assistant Professor and Director of Simulation, Technology and Research at EVMS Geoffrey Miller had the idea to use mannequins and gaming technology to teach medical students. He knows that just because students can get a breathing tube into a patient, doesn't mean they're doing it right.

"We end up damaging tissues, breaking teeth... things we want to avoid," Miller said.

The new technology tracks body movements and tells students which moves are right and wrong, which allows students to practice correct procedures.

Dr. Johnny Garcia, CEO of SimIS Technology, created the software. 

"The instructor isn't just one instructor, it's hundreds of instructors. We've videotaped them and merged their approach to doing it and that's what's mentoring the individual doing the training," Garcia said.

Miller said the program could be used to train on any repetitive movement.