Hei Ching Kristy Cheung, University of Toronto, Division of Anatomy, Department of Surgery, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Shelley Wall, University of Toronto Biomedical Communications, Institute of Medical Science
Kristina Lisk, University of Toronto Division of Anatomy, Department of Surgery, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Purpose
The use of three-dimensional visualization technologies (3DVTs) in anatomy education has become increasingly popular as they offer a cost-effective and accessible alternative to traditional cadaveric specimens. However, current literature demonstrates conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of 3DVTs in facilitating learning compared to traditional models. To inform resource selection for the implementation of 3DVTs into anatomy curricula, this study explores whether displaying 3D models using a VR headset induces a stereoscopic experience comparable to physical models, by examining the quality of learners’ depth perception as they utilize different reference modalities to complete a series of illustrations.
Methods
First-year graduate students from the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto participated in this study. Using a cross-over design, participants first completed a baseline illustration referencing a 2D cadaveric image and then completed their subsequent illustrations using a VR anatomy model and a prosection model in random order. Afterward, participants completed a survey with questions from the Cybersickness in VR Questionnaire and Likert-scale items on VR learning experience. Illustrations were later scored by two subject matter experts using a validated scoring rubric and the mean scores for each modality were compared.
Results
Seventeen students completed the study. A two-way repeated measure ANOVA showed that illustrations completed while referencing prosection and 2D image scored significantly higher than those drawn using a VR model. Specifically, participants were less able to accurately depict the depth of anatomical layers when using VR as a drawing reference tool, compared to using prosection.
Conclusion
Contrary to our hypothesis, the VR model did not seem to enable learners to develop a similar quality of depth perception compared to when using prosection. Our qualitative data suggests that using VR as a drawing reference may have imposed significant cognitive processing demands on learners, leading to inferior performance.