Virtual humans for inter-ethnic variability training in sedation and analgesia.

The objective of this research is to enable realistic Virtual Humans (VH) that support inter-ethnic variability training. Inter-ethnic variability refers to differences in response to medical treatment, such as drug administration, due to ethnicity (e.g., Caucasian, African American, or South Asian). Most current approaches to VHs do not model these differences. Our approach consists of driving VH responses based on a real time pharmacodynamic / pharmacokinetic propofol model that includes inter-ethnic variability. Results of a user study with 22 medical students suggest that utilizing VHs for inter-ethnic variability training is feasible and can increase awareness of inter-ethnic variability.