Chulalongkorn University’s Metaverse Lab-XR trains medical technology students in virtual lab skills

A Chulalongkorn University lecturer has built Metaverse Lab-XR, a virtual lab that lets medical technology students practice diagnosis, teamwork, and lab procedures before working with real specimens. The project, in use since early 2024, has been recognized by Thailand’s higher education ministry and is intended to expand beyond fungal infection training.

Why it matters: - Medical technology students need hands-on practice before entering hospital labs, but repeated training with real specimens can be difficult and risky. - Metaverse Lab-XR gives students a safer way to build diagnostic skill, teamwork, and communication before they move into live laboratory work. - The virtual format also helps students practice without fear of embarrassment, which can improve confidence and learning speed.

What happened: - Asst. Prof. Dr. Navaporn Worasilchai, a lecturer in the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, developed Metaverse Lab-XR. - The virtual laboratory has been in use since early 2024. - The project is designed for third- and fourth-year Clinical Microbiology students at Chulalongkorn University. - The first training module focuses on diagnosing fungal infections. - The project received the Excellent Innovation Award for Outstanding Innovation in Student Development from Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation in September 2025.

The details: - Metaverse Lab-XR recreates a hospital laboratory where students can practice procedures and diagnostic skills independently as often as needed. - Students work through scenarios that begin with checking patient and specimen information. - The training includes choosing appropriate tests and responding when laboratory results do not match a patient’s symptoms or medical history. - The virtual environment prepares students for later hands-on work with actual patient specimens and microorganisms. - The design helps reduce infection risk during practical training and makes better use of laboratory resources. - The program also builds communication, teamwork, laboratory management, critical thinking, and prioritization. - Students practice communicating with doctors and nurses, identifying urgent cases, and investigating unexpected test results. - Research and observation showed the system improved student learning outcomes by about 20%.

Between the lines: - The project is not only a technical training tool; it is also a bridge between classroom learning and hospital performance. - The emphasis on repeated practice suggests the program is aimed at standardizing student readiness before they advance to the next lesson. - The reported learning gain and psychological safety point to a broader use case for virtual labs in skills-based health education.

What’s next: - Asst. Prof. Dr. Navaporn hopes to expand Metaverse Lab-XR to other universities and medical technology laboratories in Thailand and abroad. - Future versions are expected to add scenarios covering bacterial, respiratory, and viral infections. - The full article is available here.

The bottom line: - Metaverse Lab-XR is Chulalongkorn University’s attempt to make medical lab training safer, more repeatable, and more job-ready before students ever step into a real hospital setting.