Founders of Virmedex.
Virmedex Virtual Experiences SL, a spin-off that works on gamified software for the specialized training in the medical field, primes the pump. The company, born in the Research Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CREB) of the Technical University of Barcelona – BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the University of Barcelona (UB), which emerged specifically from the master's degree in Techniques of Extracorporeal Perfusion and Oxygenation, launches its first product, virCPB, this autumn.
The introduction of gamified mechanics in non-ludic activities, known as gamification, has many applications in several fields, specially in the medical one. Virmedex aims to offer game-based virtual trainings to the students and professionals of the health sector. The company results from the research activity at the UPC's CREAB, which has more than twenty years' experience in the field of games and gamification for health and education, and thanks to the experience of Dr Carmen Gomar (UB) on cardiopulmonary bypass professional training.
The company's first product, to be launched this October, consists on a platform for the virtual training of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). It will allow students and health professionals to feel as if they were in a surgery room and they will understand how to make a heart-lung machine work. With this system, they will learn about the protocols to follow and will take their own decisions while experimenting with one risk: the end of the game.
