Virtual Reality Application for Teaching Complex Congenital Heart Defect Anatomy: Design and Development Study

Medical education still faces challenges in teaching complex human cardiac anatomy to a wide range of learners, especially in the subject of congenital heart defects. Traditional educational methods such as cadaver dissection and the use of textbooks still face some limitations, for example, specimen availability and student comfort. The objective of this research is to use newer technologies, like virtual reality (VR), to teach the anatomy of congenital heart defects (CHDs) of 3D heart models from real computed tomography (CT)-scan images, to offer a more profound learning experience for learners and mentors.

The objective of this study is to propose and implement an innovative pipeline for a VR-based educational application for CHDs, and to assess its acceptance and suitability for medical education by evaluating potential future users.

Heart images of anonymized CT scans were used to create high-fidelity 3D cardiac models, using Materialise Mimics Core and 3-matic Medical. These models were next integrated into a Unity-powered VR application. A heterogeneous group of cardiologists, biomedical engineers, and medical trainees visiting the Visible Heart Laboratories was invited to this pilot study to assess perceived effectiveness and satisfaction of this VR app for CHD education.

A total of 9 participants were included in the study, comprising 4 (44%) cardiologists, 2 (22%) biomedical engineers, and 2 (22%) medical trainees. Mean perception based on potential for CHD education of this VR-app (4.56, SD 0.53), was higher than traditional methods (3.22, SD 0.026; P=.008). Participants rated this application more suitable for medical students (mean=3.22, SD 0.83; P=.02) and patient education (mean=4.11, SD 1.05; P=.03).

Our developed VR application offers an innovative approach to teaching the complex cardiac anatomy of CHDs using models from CT scans. This research shows how newer technologies can be optimized for medical education with the advantage of 3D visualization and a teaching environment without geographical limitations. Future work should focus on Extended Reality (XR) integration, adding more heart and organ models, as well as performing long-term efficacy studies.