Immersive Anatomy Atlas-Empirical Study Investigating the Usability of a Virtual Reality Environment as a Learning Tool for Anatomy.

Dirk Weyhe,Verena Uslar,Gabriel Zachmann,Maximilian Kaluschke,Felix Weyhe

doi:10.3389/fsurg.2018.00073

Abstract

We developed a prototype of a virtual, immersive, and interactive anatomy atlas for surgical anatomical training. The aim of this study was to test the usability of the VR anatomy atlas and to measure differences in knowledge acquirement between an immersive content delivery medium and conventional learning (OB). Twenty-eight students of the 11th grade of two german high schools randomly divided into two groups. One group used conventional anatomy books and charts whereas the other group used the VR Anatomy Atlas to answer nine anatomy questions. Error rate, duration for answering the individual questions, satisfaction with the teaching unit, and existence of a medical career wish were evaluated as a function of the learning method. The error rate was the same for both schools and between both teaching aids (VR: 34.2%; OB: 34.1%). The answering speed for correctly answered questions in the OB group was approx. twice as high as for the VR group (mean value OB: 98 s, range: 2–410 s; VR: 50 s, 1–290 s). There was a significant difference between the students of the two schools based on a longer processing time in the OB condition in School B (mean OB in School A: 158 s; OB in School B: 77 s). The subjective survey on the learning methods showed a significantly better satisfaction for VR (p = 0.012). Medical career aspirations have been strengthened with VR, while interest of the OB group in such a career tended to decline. The immersive anatomy atlas helped to actively and intuitively perform targeted actions that led to correct answers in a shorter amount of time, even without prior knowledge of VR and anatomy. With the OB method, orientation difficulties and/or the technical effort in the handling of the topographical anatomy atlas seem to lead to a significantly longer response time, especially if the students are not specially trained in literature research in books or texts. This seems to indicate that the VR environment in the sense of constructivist learning might be a more intuitive and effective way to acquire knowledge than from books.

Highlights

Using digital media for learning purposes is a much more discussed field of research than one might suspect
We developed a prototype of the immersive anatomy atlas, featuring a virtual operating theater, where anatomical structures and arrangements of the human body can be explored through an immersive dissection
We examined the feasibility and usability of the immersive anatomy atlas in comparison to the open book method (OB) under exam conditions in 11th grade students from two different high schools randomized into two groups (VR vs. OB)

Summary

Introduction

Using digital media for learning purposes is a much more discussed field of research than one might suspect. The growing interest of researchers, educators, parents, players, and game developers has led to the development of so-called “serious games” and prepared the ground for digital game-based learning. The discussion of the use of serious games in school has become increasingly intense in recent years because a playful environment is assumed to have a higher motivation potential for learning [6,7,8,9,10,11]. Especially the use of Virtual Reality (VR) serious games in school and higher education is discussed intensively, especially with regard to the intrinsic motivation potential [12, 13]. A meta-analysis shows a high learning efficiency with VR in higher education [14]

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