2007-01-24 Today the Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program (IBAPP) announced that it had been experimenting with a virtual version of TVI Corporation's ISO-POD.  IBAPP is a leader in the use of Second Life for health care and first responder preparedness training. Project Manager Rameshsharma Ramloll (Moriz Gupte in SL) reported that his Play2Train team was "trying out the ISO-POD. With the growing risk of outbreaks such as SARS, Avian Flu, Hepatitus, and TB, the flexiblity of the ISO-POD System becomes a compelling need in the event of a pandemic outbreak."

Devices such as TVI's ISO-POD are excellent resources for players to consider when planning strategy for games and simulations. While they represent indispensible resources in response to particular situations, especially for first responders or emergency room queues, they represent significant investments and are likely to be available only in limited supply. These are exactly the limitations that a student-player should confront in a pandemic simulation scenario.

TVI's product line includes a wide array of products that could be used in this way, including:

• Field hospital shelter
• Temporary morgue
• Generators
• Standalone filtration system shelter
• Outdoor infection/isolation shelter

When product engineers are designing products for use in medical facilities, it is common to utilize CAD applications to assist in the design process. These same CAD applications are capable of rendering 3D versions of product designs, as designers consider alternative materials, insignia, shapes and optional features. Sometimes these prelimary concept images are utilized for marketing materials. Wouldn't it make sense then, for manufacturers to provide such 3D images for use in marketing and training settings, such as computer games or training simulations?

Today, some medical supply items are commercially available for those who don't have the time to roll their own. As more and more manufacturers promote themselves in settings such as Second Life (e.g., Coke), perhaps one day future simulation developers will have an easier time of it when they construct virtual sets for complex environments such as medical facilities.