Daily Business Report: Monday, Feb. 14, 2022
University of San Diego adopts virtual reality
to transform training for nursing students
Cutting edge Virtual Reality technology is being deployed by the University of San Diego (USD) to enable nursing practitioner students to learn and practice clinical skills in a low-risk setting. The technology is set to be rolled out across the entire curriculum this year to better prepare students for real-world clinical scenarios – and reduce students’ anxiety when interacting with live patients.
Regular and realistic practice is an essential component of medical training. Typically, nursing students will train using mannequins or actors playing the part of a patient. But these tools are limited: they’re expensive, difficult to scale and can’t be accessed on-demand, making it difficult for students to gain the consistent practical experience they need.
To overcome these challenges, the University of San Diego has partnered with immersive training organisation Virti to develop a comprehensive library of bespoke VR simulations, designed to give nursing students flexible and engaging opportunities to practice.
The Virti platform enables organisations to build and edit their own VR simulations using an end-to-end simulation suite. In a randomised controlled trial, their technology was shown to improve performance in medical trainees by up to 230 percent and reduce anxiety by 10 percent. It is already being used for medical training by Cedars-Sinai, University of Texas, Indiana Wesleyan University and across the UK’s NHS.
Professors at University of San Diego have created 26 VR simulations using Virti so far, covering key areas of the nursing practitioner syllabus including paediatrics, psychiatry, managing eating disorders, and dispensing medication. In some VR simulations, students observe a consultation and must decide which questions the nurse should ask the patient to reach a diagnosis. Other simulations focus on practical clinical skills.
Each simulation lasts around 30 minutes and generates objective data which students and professors can use to pinpoint areas for improvement. All of the simulations feature real people acting as nurses and patients, most of whom are teaching staff at the university. Students can access the simulations on-demand by logging onto the Virti platform using a VR headset, their laptop or a mobile device.
Over 40 nursing practitioner students at USD are using the Virti simulations so far, which cover approximately two thirds of the nursing practitioner syllabus. The university plans to roll the technology out across the entire syllabus this year, giving hundreds more students the opportunity to train using the new VR tools.As industry leaders pioneering the use of VR for medical training, Virti and University of San Diego recently exhibited together at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, which took place in Los Angeles Jan. 15-19, 2022.
TOP PHOTO: Cutting edge virtual reality technology is being deployed by the University of San Diego (USD) to enable nursing practitioner students to learn and practice clinical skills in a low-risk setting. (Courtesy USD)
MetroConnect to help 15 companies go global
With San Diego Councilmember Raul Campillo and program underwriters JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Procopio, World Trade Center San Diego welcomed its sixth cohort of companies to its MetroConnect export accelerator. These 15 small- and mid-sized companies represent a diverse cross-section of San Diego’s innovation economy, from a Bay Area tech transplant to a hard kombucha brewer to an environmental science firm and many more. In its first five years, MetroConnect has helped San Diego firms grow exports by 63 percent, on average.
Since the program’s debut in 2015, the 80 small- and medium-sized (SMEs) companies in MetroConnect have collectively added 269 new regional jobs, signed more than 543 new contracts, and set up 22 new overseas facilities.
Meet the Companies:
Access Trax
Benchmark Labs
Critter Technology
GigalO
Golden Coast Mead
iAssay
Nano PharmaSolutions
Novo Brazil Brewing
Primo Energy
Real Dog Patch
Shop My Porch
Solecta
Sparsha Pharma USA
The Good Face
Trabus Technologies
Safe gun storage ordinance takes effect Fed. 25
The County of San Diego ordinance requiring that all guns be safely stored takes effect Feb. 25, 2022. It requires all guns in homes or structures near a home to either be secured with a trigger lock or be locked away in a container. The only exception is if the firearm is within the immediate control of an authorized person.
“Gun locks are an important safety measure that can provide critical time between someone having an impulse and taking action,” said Acting Sheriff Kelly Martinez.
The ordinance applies to all unincorporated areas of San Diego County.
The safe storage of guns was part of an ordinance passed Jan. 25, 2022 that also regulates non-serialized firearms and non-serialized pre-cursor firearm parts commonly known as ghost guns..
Petco names Amy College as chief merchandising officer
Amy College has been named chief merchandising officer for Petco Health and Wellness Company. In this role, College will be responsible for developing and driving Petco’s global merchandising strategy across all categories, visual merchandising and merchandising operations. She will also serve on Petco’s Executive Committee.
College, who joined Petco in September 2019 as senior vice president, operations & strategy and territory general manager, has played an integral role in Petco’s transformation, overseeing a variety of strategic growth initiatives for the company in recent years.
Previously, College spent more than 20 years in merchandising and category management leadership roles at Best Buy — from buyer to vendor management to chief category officer. She succeeds Nick Konat, who will be leaving Petco.
Coronado Island Film Festival to screen
‘Bridge of Spies’ with Gary Powers Jr. commentary
The Coronado Island Film Festival, along with the Coronado Historical Association, will host a special screening event on Tuesday, March 8 of the dramatic feature film, “Bridge of Spies” (DreamWorks Pictures, 2015). The event will feature a conversation with Francis Gary Powers Jr., son of U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers whose capture after the Soviet Union shot down his U-2 spy plane during the Cold War set in motion the events of the film.
One of the most talked-about events of the Cold War was the downing of the American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. Powers was captured by the KGB, subjected to a televised show trial, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Powers’ only hope was New York lawyer James Donovan (Tom Hanks), recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, and won Best Supporting Actor for Mark Rylance.
BAE Systems to begin $11 million
San Diego shipyard upgrade
Following a nearly five-year approval process, BAE Systems will get to upgrade its San Diego shipyard with $11 million worth of infrastructure improvements that will allow the repair facility to remain competitive and service larger vessels.
Port of San Diego Commissioners unanimously OK’d a coastal development permit for the project, effectively clearing the way for construction to begin later this year.
BAE Systems has operated its ship repair yard on San Diego Bay southeast of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, near Barrio Logan, since 1979. The firm leases 39 acres of land and water from the port for $1.53 million per year.
Endeavor BioMedicines nets $101 million
to hunt down genetic culprits of cancer
Endeavor BioMedicines, a San Diego-based precision therapy startup that targets cancer’s root drivers, has raised $101 million in its second VC round. Endeavor will use the funds to advance therapies in its pipeline, including a small molecule inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
1859 raises $40 million to streamline drug discovery
Founded by Scripps Research Institute scientists, San Diego’s 1859 has come out of stealth mode with a $40 million Series A to jumpstart drug discovery. Incubated at Johnson & Johnson’s JLABS, the company’s pre-clinical screening platform aims to uncover potential small molecule therapeutics faster and at lower cost than current methods.
OFC 2022 to showcase live optical and data
networking interoperability demonstrations
The 2022 Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC), the international event for the latest advances in optical communications and networking, will showcase live, multivendor interoperability demonstrations of the latest optical innovations on June 10, 2022 at the San Diego Convention Center.
Five industry-leading organizations will host discussions and live demonstrations on breakthrough technologies and the efforts driving industry interoperability.
“OFC’s exhibit will feature more than 35 industry-leading organizations in multivendor show floor demonstrations,” said OFC General Chairs Shinji Matsuo, David Plant and Jun Shan Wey. “OFC provides a robust platform for the demonstration of interoperability trends and developments in optical communications and networking that are critical to advancing the industry.”
Grand opening held for new townhome
community in San Marcos
KB Home announced the grand opening of Mission Villas, a new townhome community. The small enclave of affordably priced homes is situated on East Mission Road in San Marcos, just north of the North Twin Oaks Valley Road exit off Highway 78.
The new townhomes at Mission Villas showcase popular design characteristics such as kitchens overlooking large rooms, expansive bedroom suites with walk-in closets, outdoor decks and ample storage space. The community’s floor plans feature up to three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, and range in size from approximately 1,100 to 1,600 square feet.
The Mission Villas sales office and model homes are open for private in-person tours by appointment, and walk-in visits are welcome. Homebuyers also have the flexibility to arrange a live video tour with a sales counselor. Pricing begins from the $590,000s.
