About the project

Ava-Med is an innovative project for the further development of medical training and further education. The aim is to develop and evaluate a virtual simulation patient (avatar) that is used in an adaptive learning environment. Medical students, nurses and therapists can use the avatar to conduct realistic doctor or nurse-patient consultations, recognise symptoms and record findings - regardless of time and place and at their own learning pace. The special feature of Ava-Med is the integration of anonymised, real patient characteristics such as speech, facial expressions and gestures.

The avatar can variably represent different clinical pictures and symptoms, thus enabling practical training even in complex and sensitive dialogue situations. The technical feasibility has already been successfully demonstrated in preliminary studies.

Goal

Ava-Med pursues the long-term goal of sustainably improving the quality of medical and nursing training.

In addition to professional competences, the focus is particularly on training communication and social skills - a key factor for successful diagnoses, joint decision-making and better patient care. The virtual simulation patient creates a protected learning environment that relieves the burden on real patients and at the same time enables frequent, repeatable practice.

Project partners

The project is being realised in co-operation between the University of Oldenburg and EUROKEY Software GmbH.

EUROKEY has been developing interactive e-learning programmes and authoring systems for over 30 years and bundles these in the ec-ol learning platform, which is used in companies, educational institutions and the healthcare sector. In the Ava-Med project, EUROKEY is contributing its extensive experience in the development, integration and scaling of digital learning solutions and is responsible for the technical implementation of the avatar and embedding it in existing learning platforms.

Funding

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) as part of the Innovation Programme for Business Models and Pioneering Solutions (IGP).

Publications

• Schwarz, P. and Hein, A. (2023). Conception of a Humanoid-Robot-Patient in Education to Train and Practice,IEEE 2nd German Education Conference (GECon), Berlin, Germany, 2023, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/GECon58119.2023.10295118 
• Schwarz, P., Hellmers, S., Spanknebel, S., Hurlemann, R. and Hein, A. (2024). Humanoid patient robot for diagnostic training in medical and psychiatric education; Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Volume 11 – 2024; ISSN: 2296-9144. Doi: 10.3389/frobt.2024.1424845
• Schwarz P, Hellmers S, Spanknebel S, Immel D, Hurlemann R, Hein A. (2025). Comparing Patient Simulation With a Humanoid Robot or a Human Actor in Terms of Training Success and Acceptance: Pilot Questionnaire Study. JMIR Form Res 2025;9:e70363, DOI: 10.2196/70363