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Healthcare Training Enhancement Through Virtual Reality and Serious Games

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Virtual, Augmented Reality and Serious Games for Healthcare 1

Part of the book series: Intelligent Systems Reference Library ((ISRL,volume 68))

Abstract

There has been an increase in the use of immersive 3D virtual environments and serious games, that is, video games that are used for educational purposes, and only recently serious games have been considered for healthcare training. For example, there are a number of commercial surgical simulators which offer great potential for the training of basic skills and techniques, if the tedium of repeated rehearsal can be overcome. It is generally recognized that more abstract problem-solving and knowledge level training needs to be incorporated into simulated scenarios. This chapter explores some examples of what has been developed in terms of teaching models and evaluative methodologies, then discusses the educational theories explaining why virtual simulations and serious games are an important teaching tool, and finally suggests how to assess their value within an educational context. The tasks being trained span several levels of abstraction, from kinematic and dynamic aspects to domain knowledge training. The evaluation of the trainee at each level of this hierarchy necessitates objective metrics. We will describe a unifying framework for evaluation of speed and accuracy of these multi-level tasks needed for validating their effectiveness before inclusion in medical training curricula. In addition, specific case studies will be presented and research results brought forward regarding the development of virtual simulations, including those for neurosurgical procedures, EMS training, and patient teaching modules.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. London Health Sciences Centre Division of Surgery Clinical Neurological Science, Western University, London, Canada

    Sandrine de Ribaupierre & Faizal Haji

  2. Faculty of Business and Information Technology, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Canada

    Bill Kapralos

  3. The Wilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Faizal Haji

  4. Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

    Eleni Stroulia

  5. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada

    Adam Dubrowski

  6. CSTAR: Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St.N, London, ON, N6A 5B9, Canada

    Sandrine de Ribaupierre & Roy Eagleson

Authors
  1. Sandrine de Ribaupierre
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  2. Bill Kapralos
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  3. Faizal Haji
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  4. Eleni Stroulia
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  5. Adam Dubrowski
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  6. Roy Eagleson
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Correspondence to Roy Eagleson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Minhua Ma

  2. Faculty of Education, Science, Technology & Mathematics, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia

    Lakhmi C. Jain

  3. Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Paul Anderson

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de Ribaupierre, S., Kapralos, B., Haji, F., Stroulia, E., Dubrowski, A., Eagleson, R. (2014). Healthcare Training Enhancement Through Virtual Reality and Serious Games. In: Ma, M., Jain, L., Anderson, P. (eds) Virtual, Augmented Reality and Serious Games for Healthcare 1. Intelligent Systems Reference Library, vol 68. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54816-1_2

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