Delivering clinical tutorials to medical students using the Microsoft HoloLens 2: A mixed-methods evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Mixed Reality Technology
• Holographic Learning

Background:

• Mixed reality (MR) presents educational advantages for clinical teaching.
• Devices like Microsoft HoloLens 2 can render holographic artifacts in shared learning environments.
• MR facilitates remote access to clinical events and sharing of mental models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of clinical tutorials using Microsoft HoloLens 2.
• To assess the learning efficacy achieved through this MR-based educational approach.

Main Methods:

• Tutor used HoloLens 2 for tutorials on anaesthetic history taking and airway examination.
• Two-way audio-visual interaction via HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Teams connected tutor to remote students.
• Student learning was assessed via pre- and post-tutorial examinations.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in student MCQ scores (59.2% to 84.7%, p < 0.001).
• Positive feedback on broadcasting tutor's viewpoint; negative feedback on audio-visual quality.
• Tutor, facilitator, and patients viewed the technology and structure favorably.

Conclusions:

• HoloLens 2 is feasible for remote bedside tutorials with holographic learning.
• Students demonstrated substantial learning, and the format was agreeable to participants.
• Further research is needed to compare MR tutorials with in-person teaching due to technical limitations and costs.