Taiwan National Defense Medical Center (NDMC) has partnered with DeepQ, a healthcare division of technology innovator HTC, to build the largest Mixed Reality (MR) anatomy classroom in Taiwan.MR is the combination of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Users can switch between real and virtual anatomy classroom environments, depending on the appropriate learning method.

The team at the Graduate Institue of Biology and Anatomy is led by professor Guo-Xing Ma, Director of Research and Development, NDMC. Professor Ma’s team will review the Chinese content of the VR anatomy application, and develop innovative anatomical teaching methods.

WHY IT MATTERS

Students of the NDMC can see thousands of interactive human body models in a 3D Organon MR anatomy education application through wearing the HTC VIVE Pro VR headset. The three-dimensional spatial relationship of the human body model can be comprehensively understood from various directions as students interact with the simulation. They can also learn about the movements of joints and muscles and even the beating of the heart from the model.

NDMC students can also use the world's most advanced VR anatomy test to practice for the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination). Students and teachers can also effortlessly switch between VR and the real world with just one click in laboratory lessons, learning from the virtual human body and real cadavers simultaneously.

NDMC and HTC DeepQ are currently developing a new generation of anatomy VR learning materials in the future so that students can leverage the technology for self-learning. The learning content can be modified to according to the students' aptitude and competency in VR anatomy, creating a personalized learning experience.

THE LARGER TREND

In August, VR healthcare training company Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) partnered with Oxford University, which will enable medical students to practice treating patients in interactive scenarios using Oculus Rift VR headsets. They can also receive feedback on the actions taken to improve their performance.

ON THE RECORD

“Anatomy is the most important cornerstone of medicine. However, it was very difficult to learn the special relationship of the human anatomy in the past, not to mention the transition of the knowledge to interact with patients in the future. The learning method of MR compares between a virtual and real cadaver, which helps students to understand the corresponding structures in real patients, significantly improving the clinical skills,” said Tai-Lung Cha, President of NDMC in a statement.

The president of HTC DeepQ, Edward Chang, said: “The learning method of MR can release teachers’ imagination and provide them key tools for education, so that students and teachers can have more bonding interaction. As soon as teachers in class switch the environment function, the virtual space can immediately fuse to the real environment. It overcomes the disadvantage of VR that cannot interact with students directly and cannot observe their understanding of the course from the teaching interaction. It makes learning anatomy more interesting and efficient. The MR technology, combining the advantages of VR and AR, will also have breakthrough applications in other professional fields.”