Virtual Reality Application

The vendor is required to provide virtual reality (VR) training application for dental hygiene students.
- This VR-based educational tool aims to fill a gap in clinical training by offering immersive, real-world simulations outside of a traditional healthcare setting.
- Students will be immersed in a virtual representation of a patient's home, where they will engage in a detailed scenario.
1. Enhance communication skills
•    Provide realistic simulations where students can develop and refine communication techniques tailored to cognitively impaired patients.
2. Build confidence
•    Allow students to gain experience in a risk-free, supportive environment that increases their confidence during clinical encounters.
3. Increase exposure and experience 
•    Offer immersive learning scenarios that simulate interactions with patients living with or dementia—groups that students rarely engage with during traditional training.
- Barriers to oral health care access
1. Limited student exposure and education
•    Traditional clinical training offers few opportunities to work with patients experiencing cognitive decline, leading to discomfort and lack of preparedness.
2. Communication challenges
•    Communicating effectively with cognitively impaired individuals requires empathy, patience, and adaptability—skills that are difficult to teach using conventional methods.
3. Quality of care
•    Improving educational methods through immersive VR will directly enhance the quality of care delivered by future dental professionals.
- Requirement
1. Scenario-based VR simulation with dynamic patient behavior 
•    A VR-based scenario in which students interact with a virtual patient in a realistic environment (e.g., patient’s home or care facility). 
•    Students must select the type of cognitive condition they wish to focus on.
•    The simulation must include at least ten (10) key interaction points that shape the patient’s behavioral progression based on the student’s communication responses. 
•    Patient reactions must adapt dynamically in response to student input, using voice recognition and keyword analysis to classify responses (e.g., positive, neutral, or negative).
2. Emotionally and behaviorally responsive avatar 
•    The patient avatar must demonstrate facial expressions, tone, and nonverbal cues that evolve during the scenario. 
•    The avatar must be capable of both escalation (e.g., agitation, non-compliance, aggression) and de-escalation based on the student's communication style and choices.
•    Student actions should meaningfully impact the trajectory of the scenario to reflect real clinical interactions.
3. Randomized, realistic behavioral events
•    The simulation must include non-scripted, randomized events that challenge the student’s ability to adapt communication techniques in real time. these may include:
o    Verbal outbursts or emotional escalation 
o    Difficulty understanding instructions or miscommunication
•    These events should vary between sessions to support repeated practice and skill development.
4. Optional guided procedural component 
•    A basic, guided procedural sequence may be included (e.g., a simple hygiene-related task such as simulated tooth cleaning). 
•    The focus must remain on interpersonal interaction, not procedural detail or tool manipulation.
5. Performance summary and reporting 
•    At the conclusion of the session, the student must receive a summary of their interaction, including communication effectiveness and behavioral outcomes. 
•    An option must be included to send performance results to an instructor through a secure and accessible method (e.g., email or secure portal).
6. Instructor interaction mode
•    The VR platform must include an instructor interaction mode that enables instructors (or peer reviewers) to:
o    Join the session from a non-VR device (e.g., desktop or laptop) 
o    View the simulation in progress from a third-person perspective with camera controls (pan, zoom, move) 
o    Modify or escalate the scenario in real time by:
1.   Triggering patient behavioral changes (e.g., increased agitation) 
2.   Introducing environmental stimuli (e.g., noise, emergency activity) 
3.   Providing contextual tips or interventions
•    This mode must support customized student testing, intervention, and assessment by instructors and clinical educators. 
•    Must be compatible with meta quest 3 VR goggles as well as a standard dell laptop and typical office setup.

- Contract Period/Term: 2 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: July 31, 2025