Home Category Highlights News Archive Announcement Chula News Research Innovation Partnerships Awards Honours Education Programs Chula in the News Event Calendar Procurement Announcement Highlights Metaverse Lab-XR: Virtual Lab Builds Diagnostic and Teamwork Skills for Medical Technology Students August 25, 2026 Writer Rattanawalee Kiatniyomsak Share A Chula Medical Technology lecturer has developed Metaverse Lab-XR, an innovative virtual laboratory that allows students to practice lab procedures and develop the soft skills needed for real-world work in hospitals, preparing them to become skilled and knowledgeable medical technologists.
For medical technology students, laboratory skills are just as important as theoretical knowledge. However, developing these skills into expertise requires extensive hands-on practice. This “used to be” a challenge for third- and fourth-year students at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, in their Clinical Microbiology classes.
“In this course, students first study the theory before moving on to a three-hour practical session in a simulated laboratory. The department prepares the lab for around 100 students, but not everyone learns at the same pace. Some students pick things up quickly, while others may still be getting familiar with the lab environment when the session ends, leaving them little time to fully understand what they are learning before they have to move on to a new topic.” Asst. Prof. Dr. Navaporn Worasilchai, a lecturer in the Department of Transfusion Medicine, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, explained the challenge that inspired the development of Metaverse Lab-XR, an innovative learning tool for medical technology students. The innovation received the Excellent Innovation Award for Outstanding Innovation in Student Development from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI) in September 2025.
“We want to make sure that all students reach the same level before moving on to the next lesson. With Metaverse Lab-XR, students can learn and practice laboratory procedures in a virtual environment that simulates a hospital laboratory—the setting where they will eventually work after graduation. In this virtual environment, students can practice teamwork among healthcare professionals, laboratory management, the diagnosis of infectious diseases, and other essential skills they will need as medical technologists.”
The Metaverse Lab-XR virtual laboratory has been in use since early 2024, allowing students to test their understanding of course content and practice laboratory skills for diagnosing infectious diseases as often as they need.
Learning through the virtual lab also helps reduce risks and better prepares students for hands-on training in the simulated laboratory.
“Clinical Microbiology is a practical course in which students learn to diagnose infectious diseases using actual patient specimens. Setting up simulated laboratory sessions requires time, personnel, and specimen preparation. We also have to prepare various strains of microorganisms for students to work with, which requires a considerable amount of biological material. Sometimes, however, we are not able to make the most effective use of these infectious materials because students have not yet had enough hands-on practice or experience.”
“With Metaverse Lab-XR, students can first become familiar with laboratory procedures in the virtual environment. Once they become more confident and proficient, they can make better use of infectious biological specimens during hands-on training in the simulated lab, while also reducing the risk of infection.”
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