Comparing Conventional Physician-Led Education with VR Education for Pacemaker Implantation: A Randomized Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Technology
• Cardiology
• Patient Education

Background:

• Effective patient education is crucial for cooperation and knowledge retention before invasive procedures.
• Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology for educating both medical professionals and patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the non-inferiority of VR education compared to conventional physician-led education for patients undergoing permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation.
• To assess the impact of VR education on patient knowledge, satisfaction, and anxiety levels.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study randomized 150 patients scheduled for PPM implantation into two groups.
• The VR group (n=75) used an Oculus Meta Quest 2 headset for a 360° procedural video.
• The conventional group (n=75) received education from a physician; both groups completed pre- and in-hospital questionnaires.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in the quality of education was found between VR and conventional groups.
• A trend towards higher educational scores was observed in the VR group.
• Anxiety was reduced in 92% of all participants; older patients (82 vs. 76 years) showed lower scores in a subgroup analysis.

Conclusions:

• Virtual reality (VR) education is non-inferior to conventional methods for permanent pacemaker (PPM) patient education.
• VR effectively reduces patient anxiety associated with the procedure.
• VR education demonstrated no adverse effects in this study population.