Getting to the Heart of It: Contrasting Virtual Reality Models for Cardiology Education

• In Event: Immersive Learning: Simulation and Virtual Reality in Education

Abstract

One of the goals of education across disciplines is to cultivate deep understanding of new structures and patterns. We present pilot results investigating the use of contrasting cases within virtual reality (VR) to teach 21 pre-medicine undergraduates structural and physiological differences between a normal aorta and a coarctation of the aorta. The novel technology is unique in many ways, one of which is the application of contrasting cases generated from real pediatric patient data. Analysis of post-test measures immediately following the VR experience show little difference between learner groups. Data from a delayed recall assessment was also variable, but showed promising results that learners presented with the cases side-by-side were better able to identify critical features of the diseased structure.

Authors

• Rachel Wolf, Stanford University

• David Sarno, Stanford University

• Al Johnstone, Lighthaus, Inc.

• Daniel L. Schwartz, Stanford University

• Doris B. Chin, Stanford University