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Cincinnati Children’s Virtual Reality Project Wins Humanity Grant from Software Development Platform Giant, Unity

Thursday, June 06, 2024

Cincinnati Children’s “Surgeons Without Borders” project has been selected as a 2024 Unity for Humanity grant winner by the software development leader, Unity. The project, which seeks to reduce infant mortality caused by congenital heart disease (CHD) through global collaboration, was one of just eight chosen for the award out of nearly 500 proposals.

The team at Cincinnati Children’s developed a VR Surgical Simulation Suite (VR3S) for detailed 3D surgical planning and is building what they’re calling a “Surgical Mediverse” with multiuser capabilities to help connect surgeons around the globe, including real-time multilingual translation. The goal is to lower CHD in infants by boosting the experience of surgeons, especially in low-to-middle income countries and settings with limited technology resources.

“In the U.S., mortality following congenital heart surgery has dropped significantly, but that is not true across the world. In fact, tens of thousands of children die from non-complex heart defects around the world in low-resourced countries. This technology gives us the potential to partner with local surgeons to help them learn techniques that can save these children,” says David Morales, MD, co-executive director of the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute and director of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

The team has gone beyond visualization in VR and has developed one of the first true surgical planning tools that allows surgeons to place valves, medical devices, and complex baffles on a 3D digital twin of a patient’s heart.

“Virtual reality has emerged as a cost-effective tool for online multiuser collaboration. For the first time ever, surgical experts can impact a child’s life anywhere in the world,” says Ryan Moore, MD, director of Digital Health Innovation. “This is just one more way Cincinnati Children’s, which has one of the nation’s top ranked cardiology and heart surgery programs, is changing the outcome for children worldwide.”

The VR3S platform and Surgical Mediverse use a Unity-based VR gaming network designed to create space for digital collaboration, aiming to enhance medical outcomes and equalize access to advanced health technologies.

The winners of the Unity for Humanity grant were chosen based on their vision, impact, inclusion and viability. Each will share $500,000 in funding and receive technical support from Unity to help bring their projects to life.

In addition to providing financial support, the artist Jewel served as a guest judge to review applicants and select honorees. Jewel is the co-founder of the Inspiring Children Foundation (ICF) and the emerging metaverse-based mental health platform, Innerworld.

Morales and Moore also received funding from Turner Farm Foundation in 2023 to accelerate development of a Congenital Heart Surgical Mediverse.