NHSBT Eye Retrieval VR
Guided VR training for a specialist clinical retrieval procedure
A Meta Quest 2 VR learning experience for NHS Blood and Transplant. The experience guides learners through the main stages of eye retrieval, from donor identification and preparation through sterile-field working, procedural interaction, pot preparation, reconstruction and labelling.
At a glance
Challenge
Eye retrieval is difficult to train through repeated realistic practice. Existing training relied on models and observation of expert practitioners, which limited hands-on rehearsal.
The design also had to work for learners who may not be familiar with VR. The experience therefore needed simple controls, clear staging and enough acclimatisation to let the learner focus on the clinical process rather than the headset.
- Sensitive clinical context with donor identification and documentation requirements.
- Learners may be new to VR.
- Two-handed tool use, delicate interactions and some blind or near-hidden actions.
- Aseptic workflow and correct sequencing needed to remain clear.
- The experience needed to guide practice, not function as a freeform equipment sandbox.
My role
As a designer, I contributed to the interaction and learning design, with later-stage design contact and client-feedback responsibilities. My work focused on maintaining the intended procedure flow while refining guidance, object labelling, feedback cues and interaction tolerances during review.
That meant treating the experience as a structured learning system: every prompt, target, haptic cue and reset behaviour needed to support the learner's next safe action.
- Reviewed the staged procedural flow and interaction clarity.
- Helped translate Alpha feedback into design and implementation amendments.
- Supported refinements to labels, highlights, nudges, haptics and audio confirmation.
- Kept the learner journey aligned with the intended guided training model.
Design response
The solution was a guided VR procedure rather than an open-ended simulation. The learner is placed in a simple white room with the donor and equipment arranged within easy reach. This keeps the scene focussed and reduces unnecessary movement.
The journey is split into clear stages: start and acclimatisation, donor identification, cleaning the donation area, preparing the sterile field, carrying out the retrieval procedure, placing the eye in a sterile pot, reconstruction, repetition for the second eye, preparation and labelling.
Guidance is layered: voiceover explains the procedure, UI panels and target markers show where action is needed, haptics and sound confirm tool state, and timed nudges help the learner recover when no action is taken.
- Keep controls consistent across UI, object handling and tool use.
- Use the room layout to focus attention on the donor and the active equipment.
- Break the procedure into discrete, reviewable stages.
- Give feedback through multiple channels: voiceover, UI, haptics and sound.
- Warn and reset unsafe repeated actions rather than modelling unnecessary failure outcomes.
Selected design decisions
| Decision | Reason | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Guided procedure, not freeform simulation | Learners needed practice with a complex process without being expected to experiment freely. | The experience could teach sequence, equipment use and decision context while staying controlled. |
| Single-trigger interaction model | The audience was not assumed to be familiar with VR controllers. | UI selection, object pickup and tool actions stayed consistent across the experience. |
| Focused spatial layout | The headset platform and training goal both favoured reducing visual and search overhead. | The learner's attention stayed on the donor, tools and immediate task. |
| Haptics for hidden or delicate actions | Several interactions involve contact, pressure or position that is hard to judge visually. | The learner receives feedback for finding a muscle, pulling too far, cutting, or holding a tool correctly. |
| Warning and checkpoint recovery | Unsafe edge cases were not the learning objective. | The system can warn, interrupt and reset without modelling unnecessary failure outcomes. |
| Feedback-led tolerance tuning | Alpha feedback identified places where clinical users approached tools differently from expected VR behaviour. | Labelling, highlights, tolerances, haptics and audio confirmation were refined to make interactions clearer. |
Interaction and learning model
The experience combines procedural staging with a simple VR input model. UI buttons use a ray pointer and trigger. Physical tasks use virtual hands, trigger pickup and two-handed tool handling. Scissor-like tools close on trigger press and open on release, which lets the same input pattern support cutting and blunt dissection.
The learner is never left without guidance. Each stage has a primary voiceover instruction, a visible or spatial cue when precision is needed, feedback on successful action, and a nudge if the learner stalls. Repeated unsafe actions trigger warning feedback before restarting from a checkpoint.
| Layer | Model |
|---|---|
| UI | Ray pointer plus trigger selection. |
| Object handling | Virtual hands, trigger pickup and haptic availability cues. |
| Tools | Two-handed handling for scissors, forceps, muscle hook and clamp. |
| Guidance | Voiceover, UI panels, target markers and timed nudges. |
| Feedback | Haptics, sound effects, visible changes and checkpoint recovery. |
Learner flow
Acclimatise
Start in a simple room and orient to the donor and task.
Identify donor
Review donor identification and the readiness checks before retrieval.
Clean donation area
Use sterile saline and alcohol wipes with direction and placement guidance.
Prepare sterile field
Move into aseptic working with the kit arranged for the next actions.
Remove conjunctiva
Use guided forceps and scissors interactions with target markers and feedback.
Work with muscles and nerve
Use hook, clamp and scissors interactions with haptics and warnings.
Place and reconstruct
Move the eye into the sterile pot and complete a simplified reconstruction step.
Label and finish
Repeat for the second eye, then complete preparation and labelling.
Outcome
The project resulted in a completed Meta Quest 2 VR training product for NHS Blood and Transplant. The final product incorporated feedback on item labelling, guidance clarity, table height, tool orientation, tolerance tuning, positive reinforcement and haptic/audio confirmation.
It provided a repeatable way for learners to rehearse a specialist eye retrieval process, recognise the relevant equipment and practise the sequence before supervised work.
- Completed VR training product for Meta Quest 2.
- Guided practice for a specialist clinical procedure.
- Layered feedback through voiceover, UI, haptics and sound.
- Client feedback translated into clearer guidance and more forgiving interactions.
Reflection
This project shows my approach to sensitive procedural training: keep the interaction model simple, preserve the seriousness of the workflow and make each step explicit enough to be implemented, reviewed and refined.
The most important design work was not adding complexity. It was turning a delicate specialist process into a controlled sequence of prompts, affordances and recoverable interactions that supported learning without overstating realism.