Is Augmented Reality the New Way for Teaching and Learning Veterinary Cardiac Anatomy?

Strong understanding of cardiac anatomy and function are essential components of veterinary medical education; however, the heart is considered challenging to comprehend due to its complexity. This study introduced and assessed a new learning resource, the IVALA® augmented reality (AR) heart program in a cohort of pre-veterinary students. Students were randomly divided into traditional textbook learning and AR learning groups. All students underwent a pre- and post-intervention testing assessing baseline cardiac anatomy knowledge, as well as pre-intervention evaluation of inherent spatial awareness. Teaching and learning included a 60-min cadaveric learning experience guided by either traditional learning resources or the IVALA® program. All students completed a participant survey about their learning experiences. Seventy-four students (36 in the control, and 38 in the IVALA® group) participated in the research. Overall, students improved in cardiac knowledge by an average of 24.5% after intervention regardless of study methodology. No significant difference in post-test improvement was noted between the two groups. On a 20-question assessment, students in the IVALA® group improved by an average of 4.9 questions correct over their pre-intervention test, and the control group improved by an average of 4.8 questions (p = 0.9). A positive correlation was found between spatial awareness scores and post-test improvement regardless of cohort group (p = 0.03). Sixty-two individuals (83.8%) completing the participant survey reported an overwhelming preference for learning with AR compared to traditional methods. This study illustrates student preference of IVALA® program in learning anatomy of the heart and supports its use is as effective as traditional methods of teaching with the benefit of increased enthusiasm and engagement.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01260-8.