PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2023

Pediatric surgeon Daniel J. Robertson, MD, works with a VR device that simulates surgery on the the human heart at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center

Robertson conducted a study at the time, asking surgeons to view cases in 2D and 3D. Surgeons’ confidence level increased 62.5% after they saw their cases in 3D, and their operative plans changed 8.3% of the time, he said. “There was no instance where a doctor’s confidence level decreased after the virtual reality review,” he said. “My adult surgical oncology colleagues used the technology and found their operative plans changed even more of the time. Many said it felt like they had been there (inside the body and surgical area) after viewing the virtual reality models.” Enduvo’s VR technology also is used in the training of medical students and other health professionals. In 2020, a team from the Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria and OSF Health Care’s Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center investigated the use of VR as a training tool to help medical students diagnose critically ill patients. Twenty volunteer UICOMP students acted as patients. There were two cases:

an adult with an unstable heart rhythm and a child with difficulty breathing. The actors were video recorded as patients presented with symptoms of distress, and the recordings were embedded into a VR video. Medical students proceeded through the cases at their own pace while being provided immediate feedback on their questions. The students rated virtual reality equal to or better than a traditional lecture. Researchers were surprised to find that not one checked a phone to answer a text while wearing the VR headset. Their confidence soared. Before watching the recordings, only 5% said they were completely confident in their ability to provide the right treatment. Afterwards, 45% said they trusted themselves fully, and 55% said their self assurance had increased. No students rated themselves “not at all confident.” “Truthfully, it’s a very different culture from when I started teach ing many years ago,” said Dr. Teresa

Morrel Riech, medical director in the Pediatric Emergency Department at OSF, who was on the research team. “In the digital age, this is how we can keep learner attention most effectively. Medical students are not going to lis ten to me for 30 minutes and certainly not for an hour, but when you flip the classroom and they have control over it, it’s a very different outcome.” The 3D technology was particularly helpful at OSF during the COVID pandemic, when students couldn’t see patients. “We were able to create scenario based education for the students,” said Alexa Waltz, program manager for the AIM Lab. “We would do mild, moderate and severe presentations of conditions and we got really good feedback from students, who were able to learn in a way they weren’t accustomed to. “They felt truly immersed in the environment.”

Steve Stein is a longtime Peoria area print journalist

APRIL 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE 29