Through our work on the Peritoneal Dialysis VR Simulator, we were able to secure further funding from Kidney Research UK to continue developing and expanding this project. This resulted in a new VR simulator version which would build upon our experience and framework of the previous platform to support training for haemodialysis. Using the previous project as a foundation, we redesigned and restructured the app to support multiple machines, improved the general usability, and addressed key feedback and issues from the previous project. By the middle of 2025, the new VR app currently supports step-by-step training for the preparation, connection, and disconnection process of two dialysis machines.

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Being a continuation of the previous VR project, the app is still being developed using Unreal Engine 4 and being built for the Meta Quest 2, however the app has been recently tested and demoed on the Meta Quest 3.

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The design and development for this project remains similar to our previous project, with the majority of the work being carried out remotely, with close usage of reference material and videos to understand the treatment procedure and process. This material was used to map out the preparation, connection, and disconnection process for two machines in specific step-by-step manner, and then translated over to VR. Alongside the design and development of the project, our 3D artist recreated both dialysis machines with their moving parts and features to support key interactions in the VR training procedure.

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This project is currently ongoing, with further funding recently received to improve and expand the system with more functionality, better usability and additional machine support.

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Further design and development info (and previews!) will be provided at a later date, but for more information or queries regarding this project, please contact Professor Vassilis Charisis

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Some of my roles and tasks for this project have included:

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• Recorded reference videos and viewed documentation to produce user / interaction flows for the dialysis procedure for 2 machines

• Planned and designed the specific VR interaction actions required for each step (due to 1:1 not always being feasible in VR)

• Presented user and interaction flows and documentation to supervising members of the team

• Handled the majority of the development work using Unreal Engine 4 and Blueprints

• Improved our step system using Blueprints for quickly skipping, rewinding, or selecting specific procedure steps

• Restructured the previous peritoneal dialysis VR project to support multiple machines and more modularity

• Designed and implemented various functional UI screens and interactive prompts for VR usage

• Implemented and adjusted art assets from our 3D artist

• Built and distributed builds for the Meta Quest 2 and 3 for the team and user tests

• Optimised the virtual environment and some assets to improve performance for the Meta Quest 2 and 3

• Produced additional 3D assets with Blender​​