NHSBT partnered with Make Real to create a virtual reality training experience that prepares new clean-room staff to gown correctly and behave appropriately before entering live environments. Delivered on Oculus (now Meta) Quest headsets (with future desktop delivery in mind), the experience offers safe, repeatable practice to reduce contamination risk and protect patient safety.
Challenge
New starters—from cleaners to science graduates—must master precise gowning sequences and clean-room behaviours. Any lapse can contaminate cell products, halt work, and, in the worst case, endanger patients. Traditional onboarding struggles to provide consistent, hands-on practice without tying up facilities or risking real-world errors.
Solution
A staged VR programme that mirrors the real journey into the clean room and coaches best practice at every step:
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Progressive environments: Outer lobby → primary change → secondary change → Grade B clean room, aligned with NHSBT layouts and procedures.
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Guided gowning, in order: Interactive checklists and sequencing enforce the correct donning/doffing flow (from undergarments to sterile gloves), with contextual voice guidance.
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Built-in hygiene and safety cues: Hand-wash/sanitise prompts, movement pacing (“slow down”) and handling warnings (“hold further from body”) reinforce contamination control.
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Hands-on clean-room tasks: Learners transfer items via hatch, maintain airflow discipline, and identify environmental contamination sources.
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Immediate feedback: Star ratings, a visual Clean View/Cleanometer of contamination, and step-by-step corrections build confidence and competence.
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Operationally practical: Runs on Oculus Quest; designed so a desktop variant can be added later for remote deployment.
The result is a consistent, scalable way to help inexperienced staff internalise the right sequence, movements and behaviours—before they ever enter a live clean room.
