Anatomy Teacher’s Perspectives on Using AnaVu: A Novel Low-resource Stereoscopic Projection System for Neuroanatomy Education

Abstract

Background: The authors had earlier studied the utility of stereoscopic projection of neuroanatomic three-dimensional models through AnaVu (a low resource stereoscopic projection system) on medical students. The tool was developed by collaboration between anatomy teachers, radiologists, and visualization experts. Although the preliminary results indicated advantages in learning, the perspective of the anatomy teachers, the end users of the tool, was not known and hence this study. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of the observational nature was conducted where Faculty of South Kerala was informed that they will be given an opportunity for a hands-on experience to use AnaVu. A 15-min session was given to each teacher. Their feedbacks were collected using a prevalidated questionnaire tool and open comments were also collected. Analysis was done using the software SPSS and RQDA. Results: Thirteen faculty members participated in the study. Quantitative analysis showed that teachers were able to teach (4 ± 0.57), likely to use it for teaching if made available (4 ± 0.71), found it easy to use (3.31 ± 0.48), and realistic to anatomy (3.62 ± 0.87). Qualitative analysis showed general appreciation and advantage in teaching spatial anatomy. Faculty also pointed limitations such as lack of interaction with students, eye strain, and need for training to use the tool. Conclusion: The study points to the utility of AnaVu, a low resource tool in teaching spatial anatomy. The study also dealt with the concerns that need to be addressed during the scaling of such a tool for utility in the Indian Anatomy education scenario.