ZOLL’s Virtual Rescue
Become an unexpected hero in ZOLL’s Virtual Rescue.
Platforms
HTC Vive / Oculus Rift S / Oculus GO / iOS / Android
ZOLL Medical Corporation is an international company that develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that are aimed to help advance emergency care, both for medical professionals and lay rescuers alike.
They asked VR Lab to develop a VR application that for use at trade shows as a sales instrument for the ZOLL AED 3®. Users of Virtual Rescue can experience the power of ZOLL’s Real CPR Help®, which guides rescuers to achieve high-quality CPR with the use of the ZOLL AED 3.
Virtual Rescue
The solution that we developed is called Virtual Rescue. In Virtual Rescue, the user finds himself in the middle of a cardiac arrest situation, either in an office park environment or in a hospital.
The user performs CPR on the victim. The virtual ZOLL AED 3 assists and provides audio and visual feedback on the rate and depth of the compressions. Just as the ZOLL AED 3 does in real life.
ZOLL’s Virtual Rescue applications are used globally in more than 20 countries and support multiple languages.
Virtual Rescue apps have also been developed for the ZOLL AED Plus® and the ZOLL Powerheart® G5.
ZOLL AED 3
Hold left mouse button on the 3D model
and drag to rotate.
VR Lab developed three separate applications
High-end VR for trade shows
Virtual Rescue is a VR application for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift S. ZOLL uses this application at large trade shows. This is the most immersive of ZOLL’s VR applications. It provides the user with accurate measurements of the CPR performance. A voice over guides the user in the experience.
In the version for HTC Vive, a hand tracker is fixed to the user’s hand. It is used to measure the depth and rate of the compressions during the CPR. ZOLL has used this application at various trade shows including Arab Health 2018 in Dubai and the ERC Congress 2018 in Bologna, Italy. It draws many visitors to the ZOLL stand.
Mobile VR for trade shows and sales calls
Virtual Rescue Mobile is a VR app for iPhone and Samsung smartphones and the Oculus Go.
This is a mobile-optimized version of Virtual Rescue. As 6-DoF is lacking with these mobile devices, the app uses the sensors of mobile devices to measure the depth and rate of the compressions.
360-degrees VR video for lead generation
Virtual Rescue Hero is a VR app for iOS and Android.
With this app, the user can watch a 360 degrees animated CPR rescue situation where the ZOLL AED 3 is used. The user is a bystander. The 360 degrees video is essentially a passive version of the interactive Virtual Rescue applications.
The current applications are solely meant for sales purposes, not for CPR or AED training.
Challenges
During the development of the applications we faced several challenges. The sheer size of the project was a challenge by itself, as we had to develop three different types of applications for different devices, with multiple language options.
For VR Mobile it was a challenge to provide good feedback on the CPR, using the limited capabilities of mobile devices and their sensors.
Lastly, we had to keep the applications ‘exciting’ enough for modern users, especially the 360 degrees videos. We solved this by adding further animations, sounds and music.
Why VR and VR Lab?
VR allows the user to be immersed in a cardiac arrest situation and try out the ZOLL AED in that situation. The interactivity and immersion of the solution increase engagement tremendously. The VR simulations have helped ZOLL to attract attention and to increase sales.
ZOLL selected VR Lab to develop this solution because of the professionalism and flexibility with which we approached ZOLL’s original question. We guided ZOLL through the process of making design decisions and making optimal use of VR.
Finally the agile development process that we use in our projects allowed ZOLL to monitor progress and change requirements during the project. This is important for any project, but even more so for a VR project as it does not make sense to try to pin down all details at the start of the project. Throughout the project many iterations and reviews of these iterations made it possible to change requirements while stating within time and within the allocated budget.