The Human Muscular Arm Avatar as an Interactive Visualization Tool in Learning Anatomy: Medical Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

The perception of body ownership creates a sense of embodiment, which can be a powerful learning tool. Embodied learning can occur by watching an individual's body movement and also via human-computer interactions, such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). In this article, we designed and implemented a novel virtual body-ownership AR/ VR tool for human anatomy-the human muscular arm avatar (HMAA). HMAA utilizes embodiment-based body ownership to explore the human hand/forearm musculature. The HMAA was trialed with medical students to explore the extent to which it could be used to aid student learning. The key findings of the usability study suggest that 98% (N ¼ 100) of students found the tool extremely useful; 83% reported that the tool allowed them to engage with the learning materials, peers, and content effectively. Also, 10% of students mentioned that the HMAA fostered an embodied learning experience. This triggered an intentional exploration of instances suggesting embodiment in the data. HMAA is believed to have allowed individuals to visualize and conceptualize abstract ideas that would have been otherwise challenging using static models. The outcomes of this article indicate the significant potential of body-ownership-based selflearning tools for anatomy. However, further studies using learning outcomes are needed to investigate the potential advantages of body-ownership-based tools compared to current learning techniques.

Mobile Learning Technologies for Education: Benefits and Pending Issues

“…For example, the Human Muscular Arm Avatar (HMAA) project, developed by Yusuf Ozgur Cakmak, is a novel AR/VR tool. HMAA enables the University of Otago medical students to transform and enhance the learning experience in Anatomy through their mobile devices [38].…”

Towards a New Learning Experience through a Mobile Application with Augmented Reality in Engineering Education

“…This application works through an interactive menu that shows mathematical functions, a video of extra information, and the 3D graph of the function. There are also mobile applications using AR in the field of anatomy, which are capable of recognizing bones and muscles to provide the user with interactivity and better learning [54]. On the other hand, a technique currently used with mobile AR applications is interactive books, which are based on the presentation of 3D objects with AR technology when viewing the pages of the book [55].…”

The chemicals between us—First results of the cluster analyses on anatomy embalming procedures in the German‐speaking countries

“…Hands‐on courses utilizing human tissues for educational training offer an important pathway to acquire anatomical and procedural knowledge both for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students 1–5 . Owing to the advances made in teaching technology in recent years, anatomical training can now be provided using a variety of methods, ranging from physical dissection to virtual courses visualizing structures in vivo 6–10 . Despite such developments, consensus prevails that anatomical dissection remains the gold standard for anatomical training, 11,12 while virtual facilities are seen as complementary options rather than being full substitutes 7,8,13,14 …”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Owing to the advances made in teaching technology in recent years, anatomical training can now be provided using a variety of methods, ranging from physical dissection to virtual courses visualizing structures in vivo. [6][7][8][9][10] Despite such developments, consensus prevails that anatomical dissection remains the gold standard for anatomical training, 11,12 while virtual facilities are seen as complementary options rather than being full substitutes. 7,8,13,14 Anatomy training is mostly conducted on embalmed bodies or specimens.…”