108 - Formative Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) in Anatomy with the Use of the Vancouver Virtual Reality App (VanVRapp)

Poster Board Number: 108
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Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Andreas Grøndalen - Scientific assistant, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Sabina Sagredo-Thackwell - Scientific assistant, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Hanne Dahl Vonen - Scientific assistant, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Melanie Rae Simpson - Program Leader, Associate professor, Department of public health and nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Claudia Krebs - Professor, Department of cellular and physiological sciences, University of British Columbia

Abstract Body : Introduction and Objective: As the number of medical students increases at institutions globally, existing structures for assessment of anatomy are under pressure. Physical specimens are expensive and time–consuming to produce. Digital specimens such as found in the VanVRapp could be an alternative to assessment in an Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE). Nevertheless, it is important to know whether digital specimens influence exam scores and cognitive load. In a pilot study, we found that there were no differences in exam scores between physical and digital specimens in WebVR. In this study, immersive Virtual Reality using a head-mounted device (HMD-VR) was added as a third medium. The main objective of this non-inferiority study was to compare exam scores testing heart, knee and shoulder anatomy with the help of these three different media.

Materials and Methods: The anatomical topics were tested on each student with a random rotation of two digital specimens (WebVR and HMD-VR) and a physical specimen. Students were tested in a physical environment with an assessor in place, while the anatomical topic and medium used only differed at each station. Cognitive load was measured for each medium separately.


Results: 85% of all first-year medical students (n=128) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) participated.

Overall, students performed better on the webVR stations compared to both the stations with physical (mean difference 0.8, 95 % CI 0.4 to 1.2) and HMD-VR (mean diff. 0.6, 95 % CI 0.2 to 1.0) specimens.

The same pattern of performance between media was seen for the knee, heart and shoulder anatomy, with the students scoring higher on the WebVR stations. There was no indication that students performed comparatively better with one or the other medium.

Students had a lower score on cognitive load on the webVR specimens compared to HMD-VR specimens (mean diff. -1.33, 95 % CI -1.66 to -0.99, p < 0.001). No such difference was measured in comparison to physical specimens (mean difference 0.05, 95 % CI -0.36 to 0.25, p=0.36).


Conclusion: Digital WebVR specimens could be used in a formative OSPE of anatomy at NTNU. They seem to improve exam scores, without increasing cognitive load.

Significance/Implication: The use of digital specimens in OSPE might make the examination more objective as it uses the same specimen for all students. Furthermore, it might be possible to evaluate one's knowledge in a digital formative setting in WebVR as digital specimens are independent of physical infrastructure, time, and space. Further studies are needed to analyze the changing roles of both students and assessors in this assessment approach.