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Comparing Patient Simulation With a Humanoid Robot or a Human Actor in Terms of Training Success and Acceptance:
Patricia Schwarz1, Sandra Hellmers1, Sebastian Spanknebel2
1Assistance Systems and Medical Device Technology, Department of Health Services Research, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
JMIR Formative Research
|December 5, 2025
Summary
Humanoid robots and actors in videos show similar diagnostic accuracy in medical training. While actors were perceived as more realistic, robots offered greater diagnostic confidence, suggesting robots are a valuable addition to patient simulation methods.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Simulation Technology
Background:
- Patient simulation enhances medical and nursing training by bridging theory and practice.
- Traditional methods using actors are effective but resource-intensive.
- Investigating novel simulation methods is crucial for efficient training.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the training effectiveness and user acceptance of humanoid robot patient simulators versus video-based actor simulators.
- To assess diagnostic accuracy and confidence levels between the two simulation methods.
Main Methods:
- A pilot study involved 21 medical students and nurses conducting psychopathological assessments.
- Group 1 (n=11) interacted with a humanoid robot simulator.
- Group 2 (n=10) used a video featuring an actor simulating identical symptoms.
Main Results:
- Diagnostic accuracy was high for both methods: 91% for the robot and 90% for the video actor.
- Participants using the robot simulator reported higher confidence in their diagnoses (82%) compared to the video actor group (90%).
- Overall error rate was low at 10% for both groups.
Conclusions:
- Humanoid robots demonstrate comparable diagnostic performance to video actors in simulated psychiatric cases.
- While actors were rated more realistic, robots offer a promising, potentially more cost-effective, alternative for medical education.
- Humanoid robots can be a valuable supplementary tool in patient simulation for healthcare training.
