Virtual Center Becomes a Reality

In the not-too-distant future, medical students will practice life-saving emergency surgery procedures without worrying about losing the patient.

This is the hope of Joanne Grey, who is writing a grant to develop such educational materials for the South Orange County Community College District’s new Virtual Technology Education Center, known as V-TEC, at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

Grey, project director for regional health occupations at the college, said there are more than 200 students on waiting lists for nursing classes because of the shortage of “wet labs” that allow students to train on cadavers. Using computers, virtual wet labs would mean more training for the increasing number of students in the emergency medical field, Grey said.

It’s the potential for programs like this that prompted the district to enter into a partnership earlier this year with Prosolvia, a Swedish-based virtual reality company, to develop the center, which celebrated its grand opening Wednesday.

Officials recently approved non-credit, fee-based vocational classes at the center. As materials are developed, regular classes will become available to students.

Trustees also agreed to fund 35% of the $1-million center, with Prosolvia taking a larger financial risk and profit share. But the center should pay for itself, said Marly Bergerud, V-TEC program director and dean of business at the college, because it will solicit its design services to the businesses.

She announced the center’s first client, Dream Quest, at the grand opening. Dream Quest has commissioned the center to help develop the world’s fastest passenger cruise ship, also the first one entirely designed through computer simulation.

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