Laboratory Training Goes Virtual
The CDC’s OneLab VR lab environment offers an expanding suite of lab training scenarios in real-time from around the world
Joe Rothschild is a health communications specialist with the training and workforce development branch in the Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Imagine using technology to deliver hands-on laboratory training without the risk. Virtual reality (VR) training makes this possible—it expands upon traditional training and stimulates the senses as learners interact with a virtual laboratory environment and perform tasks in a safe, contained area.
This is why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created OneLab VR, a virtual environment that offers an expanding suite of laboratory training scenarios. OneLab VR includes a 50,000-square-foot virtual facility designed to reimagine the way we conduct clinical and public health laboratory training.
A group of learners are engaged in a multiplayer virtual training session in OneLab VR. They are dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) as they inspect a vial of blood before placing it into a centrifuge.
CDC
Training in real-time from around the world
OneLab VR includes a multiplayer component where clinical, public health, and academic laboratory trainers can conduct live training on a variety of laboratory topics and invite their learners to join virtually. Using this platform, trainers and learners can communicate with one another in real-time from around the world. These multiplayer sessions can be one-on-one or held in groups.
The CDC created this virtual training space in collaboration with laboratory architects, designers, safety experts, and members of the clinical laboratory community. Every aspect of the space—from the physical size of laboratory environments to the placement of fire alarms and sprinkler systems—has been researched, tested, and reviewed.
OneLab VR consists of 12 different virtual laboratories with scenarios designed to quickly familiarize learners with laboratory equipment, safety, and procedures. More than 100 custom-built pieces of laboratory equipment make the design—and the user experience—more realistic for learners and trainers alike.
VR training is not meant to replace traditional training options like eLearning or hands-on training; instead, it complements them. Combining traditional and VR methods helps laboratories create a comprehensive and effective training program that enhances learner engagement, promotes practical application of knowledge, provides realistic experiences, and delivers measurable training outcomes. VR training is also appealing to the next generation of laboratory professionals.
Learners participate in a multiplayer training session in OneLab VR by watching their instructor demonstrate the appropriate steps to take when packing a specimen for shipping.
CDC
Cost effective with a wider reach
Training in VR is a cost-effective solution as laboratory budgets tighten. It is less expensive to build and maintain than a comparable real-world laboratory, and it can reach more people for less cost. VR allows learners to use their time more efficiently since they are not restricted by time and location, such as facility access or commute time. Learners can safely practice their skills in a virtual laboratory, reinforcing what they’ve learned through traditional training methods without depleting valuable supplies or creating the need to work in—and then decontaminate—a real-world laboratory.
OneLab VR is part of CDC OneLab™, an initiative developed to bridge, train, and sustain a capacity-building community among laboratory professionals and testers to support rapid, large-scale responses to public health emergencies collectively. OneLab VR is available on OneLab REACH™, is designed for the Meta Quest and all OpenXR compatible headsets, and is available on SideQuest and the Meta Quest Store.