Immersion Corporation has announced a novel approach that accurately and efficiently trains pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons on an emerging procedure for diagnosing and staging lung cancer. The Endobronchial Ultrasound with Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) module provides realistic multi-modal (sight, sound, and touch) virtual reality training for this difficult but highly accurate procedure that diagnoses and stages lung cancer. It is the novel haptic-enabled endoscopy simulator designed for EBUS-TBNA. EBUS has been shown to be an effective tool for imaging and sampling mediastinal nodes. However, due to several factors such as an angled camera view and difficult to interpret ultrasound images, it requires intense training and can take over 50 procedures to learn. By using advanced virtual reality simulation to train, medical schools and institutions can provide a riskfree, cost-saving, and highly effective way for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians to master the EBUS procedure. EBUS-TBNA provides a minimally invasive alternative to mediastinoscopy, the traditional method of staging lung cancer. Additionally, the image guided component increases yields versus traditional "blind" TBNA techniques. EBUS-TBNA can offer ongoing cost savings by avoiding the need for mediastinoscopy and other more expensive procedures for some patients. EBUS-TBNA module for its EndoscopyVR System provides several key benefits, including: • Virtual patient anatomy derived from actual patient CT images to present a true-to-life environment. • Real-time ultrasound imaging with integrated color Doppler. • Bronchoscope and TBNA needle that feels and handles realistically to simulate actual interactions experienced in patients, which reduces the need for cadavers. • Simulations that include realistic TouchSense force feedback, allowing the user to experience the feel of the real procedure. • Independent learning that reduces the cost of supervision. Realistic images and audio feedback combine with touch feedback to involve three key senses. • Modules with increasingly challenging cases to broaden experience and test progress. Physics-based simulation presents the trainee with digital virtual reality patients that respond accurately, adding to the level of realism. • Modular design allowing cost-effective medical simulation of multiple procedures on the same platform. • Physiological responses to vital signs based upon the user's interactions as well as medications administered during the procedure. • Medical simulators are mobile and convenient for use in the training institution.