3IT-Project TeleSTAR: Virtual & Augmented Reality in Education|EdTech & Organizational Learning Meetup

The project TeleSTAR (Telepresence for Surgical Assistance and Training using Augmented Reality) uses the latest imaging technology for better training and visualization of surgeries. On 28 April 2022, the 3IT was invited to present the project at the Virtual & Augmented Reality in Education – EdTech & Organisational Learning Meetup Event hosted by efiport.

Efiport is a provider of technology-supported education solutions, offering learning efficiency to global corporations, SMEs and educational institutions. Their service EdTech, (Education Technology) provides video production and livestreaming of videos and holds regular online events in this field. The topic of their latest Meetup event was concerned with how Virtual and Augmented Reality can be applied in education in order to create engaging and lasting learning experiences. The target audience consists mainly of researchers and industry experts. However, the event format is open to a wider audience as well.

3IT project manager Maria Ott was invited to present the 3IT Partner Network and the 3IT project TeleSTAR at the latest edition of efiports EdTech Meetup. She focused on the motivation and state of the art of the project, as well as one of their previous showcases in November 2020: At that time, the project team had successfully transmitted the surgery of a cochlea implantation to four remote locations in parallel (Munich, Rotterdam, two locations in Berlin). Using an Augmented Reality based 3D live stream from the ENT clinic of Berlin’s renowned University Hospital Charité, they have enabled more than 60 participants and trainees to follow the live stream with a latency of maximum 800 milliseconds.

TeleSTAR, launched in January 2020 by a team of experts of TU Delft, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Fraunhofer HHI and ARRI Medical, uses a full digital surgical microscope and computer vision algorithms to develop new AR-based training and teaching methods and tools, leading to a new level of educational transparency. The system offers new ways to visualize relevant surgical information, allowing surgeons to improve and explain their decisions. Surgical decisions can be easily visualized during course units, on high-resolution screens or a head-mounted display, in any local or remote location.

Following the presentation, a networking session allowed for some further explanations of the 3IT’s scope and relevance in the field of Virtual and Augmented Reality and 3D live streaming.

TeleSTAR is funded by the EIT-Health. EIT-Health is supported by the EIT, a body of the European Union.