In Ghana, Virtual Reality Is Training Africa’s Next Generation of Eye Surgeons

Inside a training room at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, one of West Africa’s largest referral hospitals, first-year ophthalmology residents are performing dozens of cataract operations every week. There is no operating theater. No patient lies beneath the surgical microscope.

Instead, the surgeons wear virtual reality headsets.

Each simulated operation allows residents to make mistakes they cannot afford to make in real life. They can repeat the same procedure again and again, receive immediate feedback, and build muscle memory before ever stepping into an operating room.

For hospitals across Africa, where specialist trainers, equipment and opportunities for supervised surgery are often in short supply, that practice is beginning to reshape how the next generation of eye surgeons is trained.

New data released Tuesday by medical technology company Fundamental XR and the nonprofit Orbis International suggests that immersive virtual reality training is accelerating surgical education across several African countries while reducing the risks associated with learning complex procedures on patients.

The partnership has deployed five virtual reality simulation systems across Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Ghana, where ophthalmology residents are using the technology to prepare for cataract surgery, one of the world’s most common operations and one of the most effective ways to prevent avoidable blindness.

The strongest results have emerged in Ghana.

At Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, a group of just 13 first-year residents has collectively logged more than 230 hours of simulation training this year. On average, each resident has completed more than 40 full Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) procedures in virtual reality, a level of repetition that educators say would be impossible through conventional surgical training.

The numbers reflect a deliberate change in how the hospital teaches surgery.

Faculty members designed a structured curriculum that requires residents to demonstrate proficiency on the simulator before progressing to wet laboratory sessions or operating on patients. Residents rotate through clinics and laboratory blocks during regular working hours, allowing the hospital to maximize use of a single simulation system.

The result has been what educators describe as a culture of continuous practice and healthy competition among trainees.

For Patrick Sapana-Kosa, a first-year ophthalmology resident, the greatest value lies in being able to fail without consequences.

“What makes the simulator so valuable is that you can make mistakes, learn from them, and improve without putting patients at risk,” said Sapana-Kosa. “The repetition and feedback helped me become more confident and better prepared when moving into real surgical settings.”

That ability to “fail safely” has become one of virtual reality’s strongest selling points in medical education.

Instead of encountering complications for the first time during live surgery, trainees can experience them repeatedly in a controlled environment until the correct techniques become instinctive.

Faculty members at Korle Bu say the benefits extend beyond resident confidence.

Because trainees arrive at wet laboratories already familiar with the sequence of surgical steps, instructors spend less time teaching basic techniques and more time refining decision making and precision. The hospital has also reported fewer mistakes during laboratory practice, reducing the amount of tissue, sutures and other consumable materials used during training.

Those efficiencies matter in health systems where budgets are constrained and surgical supplies are carefully rationed.

The need for better surgical training is growing.

According to the World Health Organization, at least 2.2 billion people worldwide live with vision impairment or blindness, and at least one billion of those cases could have been prevented or remain untreated. Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where shortages of ophthalmologists often leave patients waiting months or years for surgery.

Sub-Saharan Africa carries one of the world’s highest burdens of avoidable blindness while also facing a severe shortage of specialist eye surgeons.

Traditional ophthalmic education depends heavily on mentorship and repeated exposure to live surgical cases, opportunities that can be difficult to provide consistently in many hospitals.

Simulation offers an alternative.

Residents can practice difficult procedures hundreds of times before treating patients, allowing educators to standardize training regardless of local surgical volumes.

The impact is also being felt elsewhere in Africa.

At the Rwanda International Institute of Ophthalmology, residents participating in the Orbis program reported measurable improvements in their confidence and technical performance.

“My surgeries have actually improved because I am now performing steps the way they are supposed to be done,” one said. “You remember the steps so well that you don’t need to think as much when operating.”

Those comments reflect a broader shift taking place in medical education as immersive technologies move beyond experimental pilot projects into routine clinical training.

Virtual reality has gained traction across surgery in recent years, from orthopedics and neurosurgery to laparoscopic and robotic procedures. Hospitals increasingly use simulation to shorten learning curves while allowing trainees to develop technical skills before entering operating rooms.

Fundamental XR says its technology has now been used in more than 50,000 training sessions across more than 30 countries.

Its collaboration with Orbis has expanded to 22 partner institutions across nine countries, delivering more than 2,700 training sessions and over 1,100 hours of surgical practice to nearly 400 users worldwide.

Several institutions have also begun using the systems during workshops for medical students and visiting clinicians.

The broader ambition extends beyond technology itself.

Orbis, which has spent more than four decades working to prevent avoidable blindness, focuses on strengthening local health systems rather than providing short-term medical missions. Alongside hands-on training, the organization supports hospitals, universities and ministries of health while operating the Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited teaching hospital housed inside a converted MD-10 aircraft, and Cybersight, a telemedicine platform connecting eye care professionals around the world.

Virtual reality is becoming another tool within that strategy.

Instead of replacing experienced surgical mentors, simulation allows those mentors to spend more time refining advanced techniques rather than correcting basic errors.

For countries where ophthalmologists remain scarce, that efficiency could prove increasingly valuable.

The technology also reflects a broader transformation underway across healthcare.

Artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality are moving from experimental technologies into everyday clinical practice. Medical schools are using digital anatomy laboratories. Hospitals are employing AI to interpret scans and support diagnosis. Surgeons are rehearsing complex procedures in immersive environments before entering operating rooms.

Training itself is becoming digital.

For residents beginning their careers at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, that future has already arrived.

Long before they make their first incision on a patient, they have already performed the same operation dozens of times, learning from every mistake without placing a single person’s eyesight at risk.

In places where experienced eye surgeons remain in short supply, that may prove to be one of virtual reality’s greatest contributions: not replacing teachers, but helping create more of them.

Yaa Gyasi

Biggest Selling Title: Homegoing
Short Bio: A Ghanaian-American novelist, Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing traces the lineage of two half-sisters and their descendants, exploring the impact of slavery on generations.

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