Pilot Study: Gamification of Carpal Anatomy Education Using Virtual Reality

Teaching spatial anatomy using conventional learning tools remains challenging. Virtual reality (VR) applications can be effective tools in learning anatomy in 3 dimensions.

A randomized controlled study assessed user understanding of spatial carpal anatomy using a VR wrist game module. Eleven first-year medical students completed the study. The VR group underwent training using the VR wrist game. All participants completed pre- and postintervention questionnaires, a textbook reading, and an assessment of carpal anatomy knowledge using a standardized physical model test.

On the physical model test, the VR group placed a significantly higher number of correctly positioned and oriented bones (Mann-Whitney U = 4.5; P = 0.039). The VR group was 8 times more likely to complete the test faster (odds ratio = 8.0; P = 0.140). The wrist game score directly correlated with the physical model test score (r ² = 0.82; P = 0.019). All participants agreed that the learning module can help practice transferable motor skills and that they would recommend the VR module to colleagues to learn and practice carpal bone anatomy.

These results suggest that VR effectively provides transferable spatial skills useful in real-life anatomy knowledge application. This study indicated that 2-dimensional resources alone are less efficient for teaching the 3-dimensional nature of carpal anatomy. We believe that spatial understanding, a transferable skill trained by 3-dimensional tools, is clinically relevant. This knowledge is applicable both in clinical clerkships and in graduate medical education.