148 - VR Bronchoscopy Education Tool

Poster Board Number: 148
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : INTRO
Virtual Reality (VR) has begun to take its hold within the medical field as a testing and teaching resource, and it is through this ongoing development that we see the opportunity to provide a methodology that creates accessible and personalized instructional material. This methodology can house vital medical knowledge for teaching high risk low volume (HILO) surgeries, expanding the educational reach beyond that of expensive simulation-based training resources. Our team has created a VR representation of a patient-specific trachea to aid in the learning and studying of Lymph-node locations to prepare students for performing Bronchoscopy procedures. We will share our pipeline to creating this clinician-designed medical teaching tool and its effectiveness when compared to other educational mediums, such as 2D diagrams and 3D printed models.
METHOD
Abdominal CT DICOM files are loaded an image computing software where the lungs are segmented from the trachea to 2nd generational branches. Next, the segmentation is imported into a mesh-based 3D modeling software to create surrounding forms such as veins and arteries. The exported models are imported into software that allows for the visualization of VR scenes. The VR scene is set with controls that allow users to navigate through the imported virtual environment and activate a translucency mode, so students can self-test. Adjustments are made to the floor, bounding boxes, and lighting. Textures are created through a combination of photogrammetry scans taken from a porcine heart and manually textured using a 3D texturing program. Once finalized, the scene is exported into a standalone headset to be utilized within teaching sessions. Finally, pulmonology students are presented with one of three study tools, a 2D labeled diagram, a 3D printed model and our VR environment. To reduce independent variables, each resource is based off the same 3D model used within the VR scene. All students are given a Likert survey before and after the testing sessions, asking about their willingness to use VR as a study tool. Next, students are tested on their knowledge using a Bronchoscopy simulator. They are then split into 3 groups, with each team starting their day with a different resource. After their first review, students tested a second time, and then reviewed with a second type of medium out of the three.
RESULTS
When surveyed, all 23 participants reported VR resources as more helpful compared to other modalities, 22 strongly recommend the tool for education. The student’s test results show no significant trend. Additionally, several participants of the study relayed their interest in taking a copy of the program home to use with their personal devices as a study aid. From our feedback, we conclude that the students who took part in the study were enthusiastic seeing the progress in its development of this tool.
CONCLUSION
Our team has engaged with alternative methods of instruction, allowing the creation of a teaching tool for anatomical education. With the exponential speed of technological advancements, we must ensure medical practices keep up with developing modalities and remain accessible. For students and instructors, it’s critical to provide advanced instructional content that works to bridge the experiential gaps found in later education. For patients and doctors, this project and other customized medical VR applications will provide a more personalized approach to medical education and preparation for HILO surgery procedures.