Evaluation for Iteration; Pre-pilot Design and Results of an Anatomy Education VR Resource

Authors

  • Panagiotis Antoniou Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2650-9529
  • Sofia Lachanoudi Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
  • Annita Varella Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1322-8341
  • Konstantinos Tagaras Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1447-7208
  • Natalia Stathakarou Department of Learning Informatics Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7159-5801
  • Tobias Karlson Department of Learning Informatics Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden
  • Eirini Schiza Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus, Aglantzia, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus
  • Evangelia Gkougkoudi Department of Computer Science, University of Cyprus, Aglantzia, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus
  • Charalambos Chatzimallis ViLabs (CY) LTD, Limassol, Cyprusline 4 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3891-8998
  • Alkinoos Athanasiou Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0269-4195
  • Vasileios Voulgarakis ViLabs (CY) LTD, Limassol, Cyprusline 4
  • Georgios Tsoulfas Department of Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Efstathios Sidiropoulos Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
  • Panagiotis Bamidis Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9936-5805

Keywords:

Virtual Reality (VR), Medical Education, Pre-pilot testing, Qualitative Evaluation

Abstract

Extended reality (XR), comprising VR & AR has numerous uses in medical education and surgery. The global virtual reality industry, measured in terms of resources, was worth USD 3.10 billion in 2019 and is projected to be worth USD 57.55 billion by 2027. Design of such engaging resources is, however predicated on multiple iterative implementations affected by real user feedback. Participatory design methodologies and quacan then be applied to the problem of developing and making available content. Qualitative evaluation is an effective way to understand the concepts, opinions, and personal experiences of the participants by means of a thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a staple method of extracting meaning and organizing feedback from qualitative data. By using qualitative tools, through thematic analysis, developers and researchers have the opportunity to gather rich descriptions of the created resources. Additionally, qualitative research methods are valuable in generating improvements and features regarding ongoing development, as well as defining and providing solutions to any issues that may arise. This work presents the design strategy and implementation of a qualitative evaluation plan on the pre-pilots of a set of educational anatomy VR resources. Six VR resources, three for neuroanatomy and three for hepatic anatomy were tested in diverse audiences in three medical education institutions of Europe. Feedback was provided on usability, acceptance and perceived usefulness using personal semi-structured interviews. Specific recommendations for features and functionality were collected. Insights on optimal design of XR resources for anatomy teaching were also extracted from these multi-centric qualitative pre-pilots.

Published

2023-06-17

How to Cite

Antoniou, P., Lachanoudi, S., Varella , A., Tagaras, K., Stathakarou, N., Karlson, T., Schiza, E., Gkougkoudi, E., Chatzimallis , C., Athanasiou, A., Voulgarakis, V., Tsoulfas, G., Sidiropoulos, E., & Bamidis, P. (2023). Evaluation for Iteration; Pre-pilot Design and Results of an Anatomy Education VR Resource. Immersive Learning Research - Practitioner, 1(1). Retrieved from https://publications.immersivelrn.org/index.php/practitioner/article/view/46

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