Training tools at Fanshawe College include XR headsets, which allow first responders to rehearse perilous situations.Supplied
First responders, working in dangerous conditions, are at high risk of job-related mental health injuries. About 45 per cent of public safety personnel (PSP) grapple with mental illness, compared to 10 per cent of the general population. Recovery can be slow, with delays in treatment, stigma and geographic barriers.
Fanshawe College has joined forces with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to strengthen the mental health resilience of police, firefighters, paramedics, corrections officers and other frontline staff. Last year, WSIB invested $20-million to create a new 9,000-square-foot Centre of Excellence in Immersive Technologies Simulation for Workplace Safety at Fanshawe’s London campus.
The research-driven lab will use motion capture, AI and extended reality (XR) to simulate real-world scenarios. Through XR headsets, first responders can rehearse perilous situations – transforming how these vital workers are trained and treated, says Dr. Jeff Wright, Fanshawe’s vice-president of innovation, strategy and enrolment.
“Partnering with the WSIB is a significant achievement for Fanshawe, our students and the broader community,” says Dr. Wright. “This transformational gift empowers our staff and students to co-create with public safety professionals immersive high-risk training simulations and clinical treatment resources. It’s a forward-looking investment in both education and community well-being.”
For WSIB, working with Fanshawe to tackle the high rates of mental health issues was a “no-brainer,” says Jeff Lang, president and CEO of WSIB. “[When] we deal with physical injuries, we get about 87 per cent of those afflicted back to work within three months.”
With mental stress injuries, the rate of return is only 40 per cent within a year. ”That’s four times the recovery time and half the success rate,” he explains. “Anything we can do to reduce that – or prevent it altogether – is a home run for everyone.”
The impact of mental illness extends beyond those directly affected, taking a “devastating” toll on families and communities – and extracting both a personal and systemic cost, Mr. Lang notes. “Fanshawe brought us an innovative idea that fit perfectly with our goals to improve outcomes for first responders. This is exciting, game-changing work that will save lives. We want to take this research nationwide. And we really think that Fanshawe is at the leading edge on this.”
The college has the unique position of focusing on both industry and applied research, explains Assem Kroma, senior manager, Immersive Technologies and Simulation. “This allows us to have resources that can be utilized beyond the way we currently think of college systems.”
Mr. Kroma says the college is “building an ecosystem” where cross-disciplinary collaboration and community-based research are key. Faculty and students from game design, health care, technology and other fields work with industry partners to advance socially meaningful research.
“We think of colleges as an innovation hub for the region. Through partnerships, we move from the model of singular intelligence, when one person has their view or vision, to collective intelligence, which makes us more adaptable to the new challenges of technology,” he says. “We need to really understand the technology and make sure that it’s solving the issue we are trying to solve. We’re driven by function, not features.”
Fanshawe found gaps in “off-the-shelf” XR applications, where a Canadian context and terminology were missing – and the realism aspect, or “fidelity,” was lacking, says Mr. Kroma. “We wanted the training to be immersive in a way that feels real. The centre will help develop assets that are more related to our educational system and our practice.”
Ultimately, he adds, “we’ll be creating something meaningful that touches the lives and makes a difference to people who support us all.”
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