Virtual Reality for Clinical Empathy: the BodySwaps Grant at the XR Lab

CieH's Extended Reality Lab won the BodySwaps research grant, including a three-month licence for the platform of the same name and two Meta Oculus Quest 3S headsets. The platform uses virtual reality and artificial intelligence for "role-reversal" simulations, letting participants experience the patient's perspective to build empathy and clinical-communication skills.

Building on this infrastructure, the lab launched a research project on the impact of virtual reality on standardised-patient communication and began developing its own application designed to reduce anxiety in patients undergoing procedures under local anaesthesia through immersive cognitive distraction.