360° Virtual Reality Observation in Neurosurgical Clerkship: A Comparative Study With Surgical Assistant...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Surgical clerkships limit direct student participation due to patient safety and OR constraints.
• Conventional 2D monitor observation offers limited educational engagement for medical students.
• Real-time 360° virtual reality (VR) presents an opportunity to enhance surgical observation immersion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the educational impact of real-time 360° VR observation versus conventional 2D viewing and direct surgical assistance.
• To evaluate medical students' immersion, willingness to repeat, discomfort, and interest in neurosurgery across three observation modalities.

Main Methods:

• Single-center observational study involving 92 fifth-year medical students during neurosurgical clerkship.
• Comparison of three observation modalities: direct surgical assistant, real-time 360° VR, and conventional 2D monitor.
• Data collected via Likert-scale questionnaires and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Main Results:

• Real-time 360° VR and direct assistant participation significantly increased immersion compared to 2D viewing (p < 0.001).
• Immersion levels between direct participation and VR observation were comparable after statistical correction.
• Direct participation yielded the highest interest in neurosurgery, while VR offered a highly immersive experience with low physical discomfort.

Conclusions:

• Real-time 360° VR observation provides a significantly more immersive experience than 2D viewing in neurosurgical clerkships.
• VR observation serves as a valuable educational tool, bridging the gap when direct surgical participation is restricted.
• VR technology holds potential for enhancing surgical education and student engagement in neurosurgery.