Innovations in transplant education: 3D virtual reality of live kidney donation and transplantation
V.A.L. Huurman, A.D. Pieterse, F. Luk, M.E.J. Reinders
Thursday 15 march 2018
15:35 - 15:45h
at Willem Burger Foyer
Categories: Clinical, Session (poster)
Parallel session: Poster session 3: Clinical
Virtual Reality (VR) is a recently developed digital technology being introduced in healthcare education with a potential to fundamentally change teaching. With the use of a 360° camera, videos can be recorded and viewed in all directions. Watching the videos gives the viewer the impression of standing in a 3D space.
Currently, there is interest in the feasibility of applying 3D VR in teaching medical students. This allows large groups of medical students to be involved in procedures in special and less accessible environments. The VR experience gives students the opportunity to engage in actual clinical situations before entering them in real life. They can be trained in behavioural skills, and may improve knowledge through questionnaires during the learning experience. To our knowledge. our center is the first in the to implement the use of VR in renal transplantation in the medical curriculum.
For this purpose, two 360° videos of a live kidney donation and transplantation procedure were recorded. Both the 360° view of the operating room and the actual direct surgical view were shown. A clear relation between the two was visible throughout the video, adding to the realistic experience. After editing and adding audio voice-over, the video was shown in a pilot study to fourth year medical students using 3D goggles.
The students experienced the 360° video as life like and stated unanimously that they had a better view of what actual participation in operative procedures would be like, and which role every professional had. This preparation was found to be superior to immediate unprepared exposure during internships. Students indicated VR can be an inspiring addition to traditional course materials, helping them to feel better prepared and less stressed when first experiencing dynamic situations such as the operating room.
Future studies will include knowledge assessment of surgical residents (including surgical questionnaires), analysis during Crew Resource Management (CRM) training sessions, and transplant education and public relations. More 360° VR videos of transplantation-related procedures that require pre-exposition training will be developed. Introducing VR in transplant education will hopefully provide students with more adequate preparation before their exposure in live situations, leading to better prepared students and doctors and better patient care.
