Building confidence in echocardiography with virtual reality training

Many of us struggle with confidence in echocardiography, often because there’s limited opportunity for hands-on practise until we’re faced with a real patient. And as we all know, pets can be unpredictable – they don’t understand the need to stay still during a scan, and they can easily get distressed, adding to the complexity of the echocardiogram procedure. Different species and breeds bring additional challenges, with variations in heart size, shape, and position requiring us to have a broad, adaptable understanding of cardiac anatomy to get the images we need.

Thankfully, advances in virtual reality training are creating safer, more effective ways for us to learn, benefiting both vets and our patients. VR helps us build motor skills, refine techniques, and master probe orientation for accurate views using real echo images, including those with clinical pathologies, all in a low-pressure, stress-free setting. This kind of immersive practice builds muscle memory, giving us the precision and skill we need to feel confident handling real patients.

VR platforms often provide instant feedback as well, showing the effects of each movement, angle, and probe position. This feedback loop speeds up learning, allowing us to correct mistakes in the moment and build confidence through repetition – without any risk to an animal.

At Central CPD, we’re excited to launch our new Virtual Echocardiography Training Programme, available to hire for use within your practice. The package includes the VR kit for a week, along with tutorials, over five hours of online training, and 20% off our Practical Echocardiography attendance course in Central London. Find out more and book on our website.