Would you want to be operated on by a surgeon whose only anatomy training was using virtual reality? Credit: Shutterstock
Virtual reality has been described as a game changer for medical education. Some even predict it will see an end to using cadavers to teach anatomy.
It’s a big call but it doesn’t reflect the actual reality of medicine and medical training for a number of reasons.
Remember, we have overestimated the role of new technologies in the past. It seems hard to believe now, but in the 1990s we thought Microsoft’s PowerPoint was cutting edge.
The fact is no technology or tool can compensate for bad instruction.
It is why virtual reality, by itself, is not a game changer for teaching medicine, but it can be a very useful tool if we understand how to use it effectively.
Virtual reality in the classroom
We already use digital technologies extensively in anatomy courses. We use multimedia, games, 3-D printing and medical imaging to engage and teach students in ways research tells us are most effective.
Virtual reality is just the latest tool. Because it has so many uses beyond anatomy and has a “wow” factor that engages students, companies like Facebook and Microsoft are investing heavily in it.
Microsoft has partnered with universities and developers in the US to create virtual reality-like applications to teach anatomy and to simulate medical examinations with its headset HoloLens.
A recent independent application is an immersive 3-D anatomy atlas Organon 3-D, developed in Australia for Facebook’s headset Oculus Rift.
Then there are augmented reality applications, which bring virtual reality elements into the real world, like the one from 3D4 Medical, which is still in development.
While they are unlikely to entirely take over anatomy teaching, they can make an exciting and very useful addition.
Many tools to choose from
What is widely accepted is that using multiple tools to teach anatomy produces the best outcome for students. Virtual reality applications can help prepare students before they enter a cadaver laboratory and supplement traditional teaching. This is because they not only show the parts of the body but also clearly indicate spatial relationships.
Students can access virtual reality applications anytime, anywhere, which is particularly useful for distance learners who have limited access to cadavers. It is also useful for senior medical students placed in regional and rural hospitals. It gives them an opportunity to review anatomical structures when they need it most but have little access to on campus university resources.
Virtual reality can also be used to teach students about rare pathologies that are not often seen in body donors.
Beyond all of these advantages, virtual reality is likely to improve the student experience – and this is not a small thing.
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Source: phys