Virtual Reality at Leeds

Immersive technologies - including virtual, augmented and mixed reality - are radically changing the way we use technology.

The University of Leeds is at the forefront of research in this area, investing in facilities and expertise to address emerging opportunities.  We are conducting fundamental research into virtual reality as well as using the technology to develop practical applications.

We aim to use this technology to benefit society and the economy in a number of areas including health, safety, education, and the environment.

Surgeon performance benefits from ‘warm-up’

New research suggests that surgeons progressively ‘warm-up’ as they repeat a procedure on their operating list, the same way an athlete’s performance improves as a competition goes on. The authors of the study recommend that surgeons re-order their operating lists, beginning with simpler procedures and then increasing difficulty. Doing so, according to the research from the University of Leeds, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Spire Healthcare, would result in surgeons completing operations more quickly, reducing costly theatre time and potentially improving patient outcomes.

Dr Faisal Mushtaq, psychologist at the University of Leeds (LIDA) and co-author of the study, said: “Many surgeons have their own routines for preparing for surgery. What we need to try and determine is whether it is possible, or even practical, to design a warm-up routine for surgeons – and if so, for this to be part of standard hospital practice.

Dr Mushtaq and colleagues are now looking at the use of virtual and augmented reality techniques to help surgeons warm up for extremely challenging procedures such as brain tumour surgery.

The full news article on this research is available here. 

Find out more

If you'd like to find out more, you can visit the Virtual Reality at Leeds webpage, contact vr@leeds.ac.uk or follow the team on twitter.