A Distributed Simulation Approach to Integrate AnyLogic and Unity for Virtual Reality Applications: Case of COVID-19 Modelling and Training in a Dialysis Unit

Abstract

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Using simulation modelling and systems science to help contain COVID‐19: A systematic review

“…There are only 11 (3%) papers concerning hybrid simulation: Six papers were a combination of ABM and DES (Asgary et al, 2020 ; Cimini et al, 2021 ; Possik et al, 2021 ; Qiu et al, 2021 ; Stapelberg et al, 2021 ; Tofighi et al, 2021 ), three papers were a combination of DES and SDM (Kang et al, 2021 ; Lu, Guan, et al, 2021 ; Warde et al, 2021 ) and two papers were an integration of SDM and ABM (Guo, Tong, et al, 2021 ; Mokhtari et al, 2021 ).…”

“…There are 72 papers investigating COVID‐19 transmission dynamics, with 4 simulating it through biosocial stochastic dynamics (Tadić & Melnik, 2020 ) and microscopic dynamics (Castiglione et al, 2021 ; Marzban et al, 2021 ; Tadić & Melnik, 2021 ). Seventeen papers simulated spreading mechanism and transmission dynamics within a particular venue, including the cruise ship Diamond Princess (Hooten et al, 2020 ), a long‐term care facility (Smith et al, 2020 ), a typical large dialysis unit (Tofighi et al, 2021 ), a hospital (Evans et al, 2022 ), a construction site (Araya, 2021a , 2021b ), a sporting facility (Qi et al, 2021 ), a school (Tupper & Colijn, 2021 ), a college (Gressman & Peck, 2020 ; Possik et al, 2021 ), a hypothetical facility (Cuevas, 2020 ), a retail store (Pantano et al, 2021 ; Ying & O'Clery, 2021 ), a supermarket (Harweg et al, 2021 ; Hernandez‐Mejia & Hernandez‐Vargas, 2020 ; Lu, Wang, et al, 2021 ; Salmenjoki et al, 2021 ) and a church (Farthing & Lanzas, 2021a ). Nineteen papers explored COVID‐19 transmission at the country level, including Australia, China, Italy, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.…”

An Agent-Based Modeling and Virtual Reality Application Using Distributed Simulation: Case of a COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit

“…Recently, Choudhary et al [33] have applied ABM to assess the resilience of a supply chain network in the face of disruptions since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the healthcare sector, Tofighi et al [34] and Possik et al [8] have used a combination of ABM and DES methods to study the operations of a large hospital hemodialysis unit and to examine outbreak scenarios in the context of COVID-19. With the growing trend toward the use of ABM in general, and in healthcare in particular, it has become increasingly important and necessary to understand and address some of the key challenges in developing a DS system in which ABM and other simulation methods are applied and combined.…”

“…This article builds upon on an earlier attempt by Possik et al [8] to apply the proposed DS to integrate modeling and visualization of COVID-19 transmission in a hemodialysis unit to optimize the space and equipment arrangement. The current article goes further by developing a DS system for an ICU ward, with active COVID-19 patients, and provides critical support for epidemiological transmission management and training through a VR application.…”

“…Moreover, conducting a large number of experiments, involving various policy and operational scenarios, using computer-based M&S is incomparably more practical, more cost-effective, and less time-consuming than actually implementing them in real-world settings. While M&S in the healthcare domain is widely used for 1) program development, 2) testing operational procedures, and 3) introducing new medical programs and various training activities [6]- [8], the emergence of new technologies in simulation and visualization provides opportunities for maximizing their use for these functions and activities.…”