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We present the design of a mixed reality (MR) telehealth training system that aims to close the gap between in-person and distance training and re-training for medical procedures. Our system uses real-time volumetric capture as a means for communicating and relating spatial information between the non-colocated trainee and instructor. The system's design is based on a requirements elicitation study performed in situ, at a medical school simulation training center. The focus is on the lightweight real-time transmission of volumetric data - meaning the use of consumer hardware, easy and quick deployment, and low-demand computations. We evaluate the MR system design by analyzing the workload for the users during medical training. We compare in-person, video, and MR training workloads. The results indicate that the overall workload for central line placement training with MR does not increase significantly compared to video communication. Our work shows that, when designed strategically together with domain experts, an MR communication system can be used effectively for complex medical procedural training without increasing the overall workload for users significantly. Moreover, MR systems offer new opportunities for teaching due to spatial information, hand tracking, and augmented communication.
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Evaluating Augmented Reality Communication: How Can We Teach Procedural Skill in AR?
Augmented reality (AR) has great potential for use in healthcare applications, especially remote medical training and supervision. In this paper, we analyze the usage of an AR communication system to teach a medical procedure, the placement of a central venous catheter (CVC) under ultrasound guidance. We examine various AR communication and collaboration components, including gestural communication, volumetric information, annotations, augmented objects, and augmented screens. We compare how teaching in AR differs from teaching through videoconferencing-based communication. Our results include a detailed medical training steps analysis in which we compare how verbal and visual communication differs between video and AR training. We identify procedural steps in which medical experts give visual instructions utilizing AR components. We examine the change in AR usage and interaction over time and recognize patterns between users. Moreover, AR design recommendations are given based on post-training interviews.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2026568
- PAR ID:
- 10535800
- Publisher / Repository:
- VRST '23: Proceedings of the 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology
- Date Published:
- ISBN:
- 979-8-4007-0328-7
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Christchurch New Zealand
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract We present the design of a mixed reality (MR) telehealth training system that aims to close the gap between in-person and distance training and re-training for medical procedures. Our system uses real-time volumetric capture as a means for communicating and relating spatial information between the non-colocated trainee and instructor. The system's design is based on a requirements elicitation study performed in situ, at a medical school simulation training center. The focus is on the lightweight real-time transmission of volumetric data - meaning the use of consumer hardware, easy and quick deployment, and low-demand computations. We evaluate the MR system design by analyzing the workload for the users during medical training. We compare in-person, video, and MR training workloads. The results indicate that the overall workload for central line placement training with MR does not increase significantly compared to video communication. Our work shows that, when designed strategically together with domain experts, an MR communication system can be used effectively for complex medical procedural training without increasing the overall workload for users significantly. Moreover, MR systems offer new opportunities for teaching due to spatial information, hand tracking, and augmented communication.more » « less
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