The HEALTH | SEPTEMBER, 2019
20
TECH AND INNOVATION
Medical
training
through
VR and AI
HKL houses biggest state-of-the-art training facility
Dr Kumaraguru explaining how the VR equipment works at Minimal
Invasive Surgical (MIS) Training Lab.
The ‘smart mannequin’, a piece of
simulation machine that can simulate a
huge number of medical conditions for
surgery and emergency training.
commissioning of the equipment. Once we
had done that, we immediately kicked off the
training because in order to run a skills centre,
you should know what is expected of yourself
and the centre.
The team at Hospital Kuala Lumpur Simulation and Skills Training Centre.
H
ANDS-on learning is funda-
mental in many workplaces,
especially in the medical
fi eld where lives are at stake.
In Hospital Kuala Lumpur
(HKL), cutting edge tech leads
the training for many budding medical offi cers
as well as specialists.
The Health got an inside look into the
rM20 million training centre alongside Dr
Kumaraguru, Vascular Surgeon and Coordina-
tor of HKL’s Simulation and Skills Training
Centre.
Bringing it all together
“Initially this space in the hospital was used
as the centre for records. We began our quest
in 2015 by speaking to the 13 departments
in the hospital about designating a place
for a skills lab and getting it equipped. I was
the chairman of the committee and told the
departments to come up with proposals on
their requirements in regards to skills train-
ing. As you can see, our place is limited so we
had to effi ciently use up every single inch of
space. Th e departments were very excited and
each of them gave us their proposal. We stud-
ied their requirements and started writing up
a proposal to the ministry stating we wanted
to have the skills lab equipped. Th e Ministry
of Health was very supportive,” explains Dr
Kumaraguru.
“Somewhere around September 2017, we
got the ball rolling. It took about four months
and by January 2018, everything was com-
pleted. We then proceeded to the testing and
The facilities
Th e facilities available for medical students,
medical offi cers, and specialists at the centre
includes a wide variety of medical sim ulation.
Th e facilities includes;
• Minimal Invasive Surgical Training Lab
• High Fidelity Simulation room and Day-
care Ward
• Wet Lab
• Debriefi ng rooms
• Endovascular Simulation Lab
• Digital Operating Th eatre
• Command Control Centre
Looking towards the future
“In the future, we intend for the centre to be
run by a dedicated team of training staff and
specialists. However, for that to happen, we
need a lot of exposure and time. I am a clini-
cian and surgeon working at HKL while also
running the skills centre. All the staff here
are working in the hospital wards while also
taking turns to manage the skills centre. We
have an ample management team thus far, but
we do need to be more self-sustaining in the
near future,” he exclaims.
Th e Simulation and Skills Training Centre
has gotten outstanding support from a lot of
people, says Dr Kumaraguru.
“We have gotten support from a lot of
societies in Europe. They have expressed
keen interest to come and use our skills
centre. We are looking at possible delegates
and candidates coming from overseas, we had
some from Jakarta who sent their vascular
trainees to train. In September, we are getting
a delegation from Philippines to work with
us and send their candidates to train. Th is
is also an opportunity for us to expand our
wings – not only do they come here, but we
can also go there and give our consultative
advice on how to start a skills lab. Once each
country starts it, we will be able to link with
me. Th at will be the way forward,” he nods
hopefully. — Th e Health