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

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.