TruSim

The Leamington-based company has been working with organisations like the Ministry of Defence and the universities of Coventry and Birmingham on a series of games that teach people how to handle medical emergencies.

Blitz’s Strategy and Business Development Director Mary Matthews said: “Some of the early projects we were involved in included Interactive Patient Rescue, which is a digital refresher course for medical staff in conflict zones. It realistically simulates the actual symptoms and reactions that a patient has to treatment, and asks players what steps they should take.”

TruSim’s most impressive work so far though has been Triage Trainer, which teaches users to develop accurate decision-making in assessing how to treat multiple casualty situations. The game simulates the devastation caused by a city centre bomb blast, randomly generating casualties with realistic physical and psychological states.
Trials have shown the game to be statistically significantly better than traditional methods in teaching students how to prioritise casualties.

With the right backing TruSim hopes to bring Triage Trainer to market in 2010.
Mary Matthews said: “These games can have a major impact in the real world. For example the Triage game might help reduce patient mortality – it’s reckoned that about one in ten patient deaths in the UK and US are because their deterioration hasn’t been picked up quickly enough. That’s not only a tragedy but is a real cost to health services.

“Serious gaming is still at an embryonic stage, but it’s now widely recognised as not only a way of bringing games technology into the real world, but helping overcome the economic peaks and troughs of the games sector, which is still very much focussed on the Christmas and US Thanksgiving markets.”

For more information on TruSim, visit www.trusim.com