Validation of a Virtual Reality Endoscopy Platform in Providing a Training Solution for Barrett’s Esophagus

Aims Virtual reality (VR) offers an unrivalled immersive education opportunity to provide guaranteed pathology exposure, reproducible instruction and robust pathology recognition key performance indicators. We developed a novel VR platform to address the heterogenous and subjective nature of endoscopy education, which may contribute to the 11.3% published missed cancer rate of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (EGD). Data demonstrates variability in the quality of endoscopic surveillance of Barrett's esophagus (BE) but accurate assessment is vital to detect early neoplasia and alter the grave prognosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma. We conducted a pilot validation study for a novel prototype VR endoscopy training environment for Barrett's esophagus.