Technology
her experience: “Wearing the headset felt like standing in the operating theatre. Everyone got the same view, the same opportunity. It removed barriers.”
The current evaluation The impact of VRiMS is now being formally measured, marking a transition from innovation to validation. The first multicentre evaluation of VR-based surgical training was conducted across 10 UK medical schools and one NHS Trust, led by Imperial College London medical student and VRiMS Surgical Society founder and chair, Ameen Mahmood. This prospective feasibility study, now published, represents one of the largest evaluations of plastic surgery VR surgical education in the UK to date, involving 141 participants from pre-clinical students to registrars. The results were compelling. Before
attending the VRiMS workshop, only 9.2% of learners had ever witnessed a radial forearm free flap reconstruction. After a single 60-minute VR session: The findings were striking: l Confidence in understanding the procedure almost doubled after just one VR session.
l Over 80% rated the VR experience as more effective than traditional surgical education teaching methods, with many reporting that VR helped them visualise surgical steps more precisely than conventional teaching methods.
l Critically, participants described the experience as not just informative, but transformative.
“The stats are remarkable,” Mahmood says. “VR isn’t just ‘interesting tech’. It objectively improves confidence and comprehension – and it’s scalable.”
Expanding the evidence base The success of the initial feasibility study has led to the expansion of VRiMS into a full research network, with more than 18 ongoing studies exploring its utility in surgical training, anatomy education and global health. These projects range from feasibility work to full randomised controlled trials (RCTs), spanning multiple specialties and domains. Importantly, many projects are student-led,
representing a rare model of early academic mentorship within surgical education.
VRiMS without borders: training in resource-limited and austere settings At its heart, VRiMS is not just a teaching model, but a movement towards bringing equity to surgical education. Across Africa (Cameroon,
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Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), VRiMS is now training surgeons in regions where access to theatre-based education, mentorship, and specialised simulation is sparse. Through charitable partnerships, VRiMS has
brought surgeons from these countries to the UK to co-develop procedure-specific training VR resources tailored to the clinical needs of their home countries. These collaborators recorded surgical content in their own languages, designed for direct use in their regional training hubs. Once developed, VR headsets pre-loaded with bespoke training modules were supplied, at no cost, alongside training in how to facilitate local teaching using the technology. “We’re not trying to replace theatre; it’s about widening access to it,” Professor Dhanda explains. “We’re making high-quality training possible even when theatres are inaccessible –
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whether due to distance, danger, or disaster.” For the first time, the image of global equality
in surgical training is no longer aspirational – it is now tangible, headset-enabled, and is currently being actively evaluated. The system’s potential for humanitarian
deployment has also sparked interest from frontline medical groups in Ukraine and Gaza. By equipping medics with headsets and pre- loaded VR videos, teams can remotely learn limb salvage techniques, free flap reconstruction, and complex trauma coverage – procedures that often determine whether a patient keeps or loses a limb. Currently, the only barrier is physical logistics
– transporting and maintaining headsets in unstable environments. Once systems are in place, VR surgical training could be delivered and updated remotely, without the need for
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