Virtual Application As A Teaching Tool For Anatomy Education

Objective: Virtual reality applications provide an effective learning tool. This chapter evaluates Visible Bodies 3-D Anatomy atlas as a tool for anatomic education Methods: Two medical student groups (experimental, n=8; control, n=7) studied central neck anatomy using either the virtual application or textbooks. Their knowledge of anatomic structural relationships was then tested. Results: The mean scores were 22.5 +/- 2.14 and 18.86 +/- 2.85 out of 28 for the virtual application and control groups, respectively (P = 0.01). Moreover, the percent increase from pretest to post test was 31.61 +/-11.08 and 13.06 +/- 7.63 for the experimental and control groups, respectively. A five-question survey asking the students to rate their respective study modality (1-5 scale, with 1 being extremely negative and 5 being extremely positive) did show significant difference in every question. Specifically, students in the virtual applicationand textbook group were asked to grade the effectiveness of their study modality's ability to teach anatomy as 4.12 +/- 0.83 and 3.14 +/- 0.90 (P = 0.0471), respectively. Students in the virtual application group rated the likelihood of future use, if available, as 4.75 +/- 0.71, whereas the textbook group rated it as 3.43 +/- 0.98 (P = 0.0096). The virtual application group reported ease of use for their study modality as 4.13 +/- 0.83, whereas the textbook group reported ease of use for their study modality as 2.71 +/- 0.95 (P = 0.0091). The virtual application group rated ease of learning as 4.13 +/- 0.64, whereas the textbook group rated it as 2.29 +/- 0.76 (P = 0.0002). Finally, the virtual application was rated as 4.13 +/- 1.13 for image realism, whereas the textbook method was rated as 2.57 +/- 0.98 (P = 0.0141). Conclusion: Virtual application can be an effective tool in teaching central neck anatomy. This chapter may help shape the future of anatomic education and the development of modern educational tools.