Virtual reality for clinical care and training in congenital diseases
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: Institute of Cardiovascular Science
Abstract
Congenital diseases affect 6% of babies born worldwide. Despite dramatic progress in paediatric surgical procedures and interventions, life expectancy for these children is lower than the average population, as treatment outcomes remain uncertain, and the financial burden of their care on country economies is enormous. Children with birth defects, compared to adult patients with acquired diseases, typically present with a wide range of anatomies and conditions, that are often unique and complex, and that change as the child grows. To assess conditions and plan treatments, clinicians relay heavily on diagnostic imaging, which provides anatomical and functional information on the diseased organs, but that is, however, often still presented as a stack of cross-sectional images or reconstructions on a 2D screen. Thus, it remains challenging even for expert clinicians to interpret routinely acquired images, fully understand the 3D anatomy of the defect and plan the best treatment.
In this grant, we propose to test a virtual reality (VR) platform that will respond to the unmet clinical needs outlined above. The platform will not only improve the understanding of each individual congenital case via its unique realistic, immersive experience, but also allow visualisation of different treatment approaches and possible solutions before the actual procedure is performed on the child. Multiple participants will interact in the VR environment, intrinsically enhancing communication amongst healthcare professionals and with patients/parents. Finally, it will become an invaluable training tool, with a unique repository of congenital cases to benefit the new generation of specialised trainees. We will leverage our position at UCL & Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children to test and validate the impact and effectiveness of VR in clinical and specialty training applications, with the aim of
increasing asset value and drawing a business plan for commercialisation.
In this grant, we propose to test a virtual reality (VR) platform that will respond to the unmet clinical needs outlined above. The platform will not only improve the understanding of each individual congenital case via its unique realistic, immersive experience, but also allow visualisation of different treatment approaches and possible solutions before the actual procedure is performed on the child. Multiple participants will interact in the VR environment, intrinsically enhancing communication amongst healthcare professionals and with patients/parents. Finally, it will become an invaluable training tool, with a unique repository of congenital cases to benefit the new generation of specialised trainees. We will leverage our position at UCL & Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children to test and validate the impact and effectiveness of VR in clinical and specialty training applications, with the aim of
increasing asset value and drawing a business plan for commercialisation.
Organisations
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON (Lead Research Organisation)
- Dassault Systemes UK Ltd (Collaboration)
- AtriCure (Collaboration)
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) (Collaboration)
- University of Palermo (Collaboration)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Collaboration)
- Kepler University Hospital (Collaboration)
- Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu (OPBG) (Collaboration)
- Children's Hospital Colorado (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
Silvia Schievano (Principal Investigator) |
Publications



Marek J
(2023)
Congenital Anomalies of Coronary Arteries


Shetty P
(2025)
Window ductus: Part aortopulmonary window and part patent ductus arteriosus
in JTCVS Techniques
Description | Objective Assessment and Treatment Optimisation for Craniosynostosis: A Multicentric Approach to Improve Paediatric Cranial Care |
Amount | £338,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2024 |
End | 10/2027 |
Description | Research Excellence (round 4) - University College London |
Amount | £3,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RE/24/130013 |
Organisation | British Heart Foundation (BHF) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2024 |
End | 09/2029 |
Description | Children's Hospital Colorado & University of Colorado |
Organisation | Children's Hospital Colorado |
Country | United States |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | UCL Bogue Research Fellowship for Liam Swanson to spend 3 months (Summer 2023) at Children's Hospital Colorado & University of Colorado |
Collaborator Contribution | Interventional Cardiology Expertise and PPVI device data |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary, involving engineering group from UCL and cardiology group from Colorado |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Collaboration with Atricure |
Organisation | AtriCure |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Exploration of integration of VR for company training |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of data and expertise |
Impact | Possible organization of training programmes |
Start Year | 2024 |
Description | Collaboration with FDA/Dassault Systemes - ENRICHMENT |
Organisation | Dassault Systemes UK Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | An in silico clinical trial is underway with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to evaluate the Living Heart simulated 3D heart for transforming how new devices can be tested I am the keader of the WP dedicated to the creation of Virtual Populations |
Collaborator Contribution | Both Dassault Systèmes and the FDA recognize the transformative impact of modeling and simulation on public health and patient safety |
Impact | Not available yet |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Collaboration with FDA/Dassault Systemes - ENRICHMENT |
Organisation | Food and Drug Administration (FDA) |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | An in silico clinical trial is underway with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to evaluate the Living Heart simulated 3D heart for transforming how new devices can be tested I am the keader of the WP dedicated to the creation of Virtual Populations |
Collaborator Contribution | Both Dassault Systèmes and the FDA recognize the transformative impact of modeling and simulation on public health and patient safety |
Impact | Not available yet |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Collaboration with Kepler Universitats Klinikum - Linz (Austria) - Dr Julian Hochpoechler |
Organisation | Kepler University Hospital |
Country | Austria |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Sharing of VR application and expertise |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of experience and collection of data |
Impact | Preparation of use cases |
Start Year | 2024 |
Description | Collaboration with Ospedale Bambino Gesu' - Rome (Italy) - Dr Gianfranco Butera |
Organisation | Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu (OPBG) |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sharing of the VR software, training |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of use case, data collection |
Impact | Preparation of use cases |
Start Year | 2024 |
Description | Collaboration with Universita' di Palermo (Palermo, Italy) - Prof Salvatore Pasta |
Organisation | University of Palermo |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Sharing of expertise - co-supervision of a PhD Student (Mr Fabrizio Crasci) |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of expertise |
Impact | Submission of 2 papers, Participation to 3 conferences |
Start Year | 2024 |
Description | SickKids Toronto |
Organisation | The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) |
Department | Department of Paediatric Cardiology |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Development of methodology to study RVOT 3D anatomy in longitudinal ToF patients |
Collaborator Contribution | contribution with patient data and clinical expertise |
Impact | multidisciplinary with clinical collaborators from SickKids and engineering groups in UCL |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Image Segmentation and 3D Modelling Workshop with University of Cape Town |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Cardiologists at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town want to build clinical capacity for image analysis and 3D modelling for patient communication and disease studying. Through a workshop split over two days we discussed the theory and worked on a practical case to lay foundations for them to learn independently. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Participation at launch of GOSH strategy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Showcase of VR application for planning and training for congenital diseases |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar - Participation to Rare Diseases Day 2025 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Around 60 people (patients, families and general public) visited our station at GOSH rare disease day. The aim was raising awareness on congenital heart diseases |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
Description | Participation in patient engagement at GOSH rare disease day 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | Presentation of engineering methods used to study congenital heart disease in an engaging way with patients and parents at the hospital as well as to other researchers in the facility. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Participation to All Party Parliamentary Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Showcase of our research at All Party Parliamentary Group (Feb 2025). We interacted with 17MPs and 4 Peers + other members of the general public. The feedback from AMRC was very positive. The following feedback was shared with us in follow-up to the event: "I hope you'll agree it was a great success, and a lot of the attendees were clearly very impressed. This was fantastic for showcasing the value and importance of charities in funding medical research. Do please extend a huge thanks from the AMRC team to Claudio and Silvia, who both did brilliantly engaging with attendees on their work." |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
Description | Participation to GOSH - NIHR Clinical Research Facility event - December 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | Demonstration of VR for planning and training for patients and public at GOSH |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Participation to the BBC show - Operation Ouch |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Demonstration of use of VR for planning a complex repair of congenital heart disease |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b03cdr8s/operation-ouch |