AI-powered VR tool to train and guide emergency brain surgery in Tanzania
Official title: SURVIVRS+: Formative evaluation of an AI-enhanced virtual reality tool for remote task sharing and training for emergency traumatic brain injury surgical care in Tanzania.
Funded at Duke University · NIH-11306749 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A Duke-led project will test an AI-assisted virtual reality system to remotely guide and train surgeons performing emergency traumatic brain injury care in low-resource settings like Tanzania.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $187,812 |
| NIH project number | 1R21TW012965-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11306749 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients with acute traumatic brain injury presenting in low-resource or rural healthcare settings where remote expert guidance could be used for urgent surgical decisions and training.
✕Less likely to help
Patients in settings with readily available local neurosurgical expertise or where XR technology cannot be deployed may see limited or no direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project will develop an immersive virtual operating room to support remote, 2D videoconferencing-based task sharing for emergency TBI surgery. Using AI-enabled guidance, the system aims to improve situational awareness and decision-making when expert surgeons are not locally available. The study will evaluate how well this XR tool can enhance training and real-time guidance for local surgical teams, with a focus on reducing delays and improving patient outcomes in low-resource settings such as Tanzania and rural US areas. Duke University researchers will partner with local clinicians to implement and test the workflow, training modules, and remote communication features over the grant period.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this tool could shorten time-to-treatment for traumatic brain injury and improve survival in settings with limited surgical resources.
How similar studies have gone: Prior remote-guided surgical approaches have shown promise, but immersive XR-guided task-sharing for TBI surgery is a novel application with encouraging early results.
Where this research is happening
-
Duke University
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nickenig Vissoci, Joao Ricardo — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Nickenig Vissoci, Joao Ricardo
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AI-enhanced virtual reality tool to support remote emergency brain surgery training in Tanzania
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.