Implementing virtual reality technology to teach medical college systemic anatomy: A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anatomy Education
• Virtual Reality Applications

Background:

• Learning three-dimensional anatomical structures presents challenges for students.
• Virtual reality (VR) shows potential in education, but research on VR teaching strategies and visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) in large anatomy classes is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a VR anatomy instruction video for large classes.
• To assess the prevalence and impact of VIMS in VR anatomy learning.
• To investigate if smaller screen sizes can mitigate VIMS.

Main Methods:

• A VR anatomy video on the vascular system was created for a large class setting.
• Students completed a Likert scale questionnaire on their experience and VIMS.
• Faculty and staff participated in an experiment to test the effect of screen size on VIMS.

Main Results:

• Students found VR advantageous for large classes but not a replacement for dissection.
• 32% of participants experienced VIMS, with 40% of those reporting a negative impact on learning.
• Decreasing screen size significantly delayed the onset of VIMS.

Conclusions:

• VR anatomy instruction videos are a feasible and beneficial tool for large-scale anatomy education.
• Educators must consider and manage potential VIMS when implementing VR in anatomy classes.
• Screen size adjustment is a viable strategy to reduce VIMS during VR anatomy learning.