Virtual and Augmented Reality Enhancements to Medical and Science Student Physiology and Anatomy Test Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Abstract

Virtual and augmented reality have seen increasing employment for teaching within medical and health sciences programs. For disciplines such as physiology and anatomy, these technologies may disrupt the traditional modes of teaching and content delivery. The objective of this systematic review and meta‐analysis is to evaluate the impact of virtual reality or augmented reality on knowledge acquisition for students studying preclinical physiology and anatomy. The protocol was submitted to Prospero and literature search undertaken in PubMed, Embase, ERIC, and other databases. Citations were reviewed and articles published in full assessing learning or knowledge acquisition in preclinical physiology and anatomy from virtual or augmented reality were included. Of the 919 records found, 58 eligible articles were reviewed in full‐text, with 8 studies meeting full eligibility requirements. There was no significant difference in knowledge scores from combining the eight studies (626 participants), with the pooled difference being a non‐significant increase of 2.9 percentage points (95% CI [−2.9; 8.6]). For the four studies comparing virtual reality to traditional teaching, the pooled treatment effect difference was 5.8 percentage points (95% CI [−4.1; 15.7]). For the five studies comparing augmented reality to traditional teaching, the pooled treatment effect difference was 0.07 (95% CI [−7.0; 7.2]). Upon review of the literature, it is apparent that educators could benefit from adopting assessment processes that evaluate three‐dimensional spatial understanding as a priority in physiology and anatomy. The overall evidence suggests that although test performance is not significantly enhanced with either mode, both virtual and augmented reality are viable alternatives to traditional methods of education in health sciences and medical courses.

Augmented, Mixed, and Virtual Reality-Based Head-Mounted Devices for Medical Education: Systematic Review

“…HMDs enable the understanding of complex organ structures [66]. There has been a significant increase in volume of medical information expected of students in modern times, and they are moving into technology-enhanced resources to increase learner engagement and authenticity [11]. [39,51].…”

“…Quality education is key to improve health outcomes for all [5], especially in low-resource settings where there is a dire need to strengthen the health workforce [6], particularly today, as health professionals must acquire a great deal of skills and know-how to become competent practitioners [7]. HMDs can potentially be a catalyst for improving educational efforts by increasing the effectiveness of existing medical training programs, as AR-, MR-, and VR-based HMDs enable repeated practice without adverse effects on the patient in various medical disciplines; may introduce new immersive ways to learn complex medical content; and may alleviate financial, ethical, and supervisory constraints on the use of traditional medical learning materials like cadavers and other skills lab equipment [8][9][10][11]. Moreover, disruptive technologies such as HMDs can not only help to learn but also prepare medical learners for a highly technologically advanced workplace [12].…”

The Effectiveness of the Use of Augmented Reality in Anatomy Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The publication of Mori et al (2020), although also integrating VR methods and non-anatomical education purposes (e.g., physiology education), demonstrated that VR and AR can be used as delivery methods in medical education, without any adverse effects on student performance. Although not supported by their analyses, Mori et al also expressed that there is a chance that the use of these technologies may have a positive impact on students spatial understanding and 3D comprehension of anatomical structures 24 . A second meta-analysis, however focusing on VR, showed that VR may act as an e cient way to improve the learners' level of anatomy knowledge 25 .…”

“…Although the research concerning the implementation of AR in anatomical education is relatively limited, there are promising results regarding the teaching potential of AR 5,7 . Especially with regard to students' motivation to study (neuro)anatomy, various favorable reports have been published over the years [8][9][10] .…”

Assessing the Wider Outcomes of Anatomy Education

“…Moro and colleagues provide a systematic review that points to the benefit of testing three-dimensional spatial understanding as a priority in anatomy and how both innovative virtual and augmented reality can be employed as suitable assessment modalities (Moro et al, 2021), while Bogomolova et al highlight, in their viewpoint commentary, that the use of three-dimensional visualization technologies allows for the development of active and augmented assessment scenarios that include interaction between assessor and examinee (Bogomolova et al, 2021). The introduction and validation of a smartphone virtual reality bell-ringer application demonstrates the potential for three-dimensional visualization technologies to be incorporated into portable, affordable and accessible assessment tools for anatomy (Brewer-Deluce et al, 2021) The growing importance for assessment to straddle both the need for certification of achievement and determining readiness to progress, and the expectation to drive and…”