Virtual reality technology for teaching neurosurgery of skull base tumor

Abstract

Background Neurosurgery represents one of the most challenging and delicate of any surgical procedure. Skull base tumors in particular oftentimes present as a very technically difficult procedures in the setting of neurosurgical teaching. Virtual reality technology is one of the most promising surgical planning tools. It can perform fast three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging data sets under conditions of virtual reality (VR). Surgical simulation can more intuitively understand the anatomical relationship of the surgical area in significantly greater detail. Methods Thirty clinical undergraduates from the class of 2016 were randomly divided into two groups: the traditional teaching group and the virtual reality teaching group. After the study concluded, the teaching effectiveness was evaluated by combining basic theoretical knowledge, case analysis and questionnaire survey methods. Results Comparative analysis between both groups showed the response effect of the virtual reality teaching group was better than that of the traditional teaching group (P < 0.05). There was also no difference between both groups in terms of the design of the surgical approach and the listing of surgical matters that required attention (P > 0.05).The results of theoretical knowledge assessment between both groups showed that the scores of basic theory, location, adjacent structure, clinical manifestation, diagnosis and analysis, surgical methods and total scores in the VR group exceeded those in the traditional teaching group (P < 0.05). Conclusions This study showed that VR technology might improve neurosurgical skull base teaching quality, which should be promoted in the teaching of clinical subjects.

Can virtual reality improve traditional anatomy education programmes? A mixed-methods study on the use of a 3D skull model

“…Petersson et al [ 16 ] and Codd et al [ 17 ] both compared VLRs with cadaver dissection, but neither study used VLRs to deliver a highly immersive experience. Recent studies by Birbara et al [ 18 ] and Shao et al [ 10 ] provide a fully immersive experience, but neither of the research groups compared VLRs with cadaver dissection, and the VLR group used only perception questionnaires. Objective assessments are crucial to evaluating participants’ performance, in which the identification test is considered to be a predictor of improved learning outcomes following 3D learning [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…Neurosurgery comprises some of the most challenging surgical procedures, and mastering the intricacies of cranial anatomy is a career-long endeavour for every neurosurgeon [ 10 ]. In this study, a coloured and detachable skull VLR was constructed.…”

Can virtual reality improve traditional anatomy educational programmes?A mixed-methods study on the use of a 3D skull model

“…In a few studies, the educational value of VLRs has been compared with that of conventional methods, and the results are generally inconsistent. When used either alone or to complement traditional written and online materials, VLRs showed better or similar effectiveness in terms of enabling students to learn anatomy [2,[8][9][10][11]. More importantly, VLRs are rated as more interesting and engaging [8], enjoyable [8,9,11], motivating [8,[12][13][14] and useful for understanding spatial relationships [11,13,15] than traditional tools.…”

“…Petersson et al [16] and Codd et al [17] both compared VLRs with cadaver dissection, but neither study used VLRs to deliver a highly immersive experience. Recent studies by Birbara et al [18] and Shao et al [10] provide a fully immersive experience, but neither of the research groups compared VLRs with cadaver dissection, and the VLR group used only perception questionnaires. Objective assessments are crucial to evaluating participants' performance, in which the identi cation test is considered to be a predictor of improved learning outcomes following 3D learning [19,20].…”

Can virtual reality improve traditional anatomy education programmes? A mixed-methods study on the use of a 3D skull model

“…Petersson et al [16] and Codd et al [17] both compared VLRs with cadaver dissection, but neither study used VLRs to deliver a highly immersive experience. Recent studies by Birbara et al [18] and Shao et al [10] did provide a fully immersive experience, but neither of the research groups compared VLRs with cadaver dissection, and the former group used only perception questionnaires. Objective assessments are crucial to evaluating participants' performance, in which the identi cation test is considered a predictor of improved learning outcomes following 3D learning [21,22].…”