Instructors and students in the medial field have unique challenges when it comes to teaching and learning. While both medical school and professional development both require intensive reading from textbooks and journals, or dissection of cadavers, these ways of learning feel disconnected from the human element, are not holistic, and in the case of the use of cadavers, can very expensive. Per a review in the September 2014 issue of the journal Perspectives in Medical Education, current instructional best practices recommend "whole-task training" as the most effective method of meaningful learning, and augmented reality provides the perfect tools to achieve this.
For example, from the aforementioned review comes the story of several innovative ways that the education of anatomy is being enhanced through augmented reality. The Miracle Mirror System (PDF) gives users a virtual look at their own internal anatomy. The system uses the Microsoft Kinect technology to display real-time video of the user on a screen and track his or her movements, then displays 3D graphics of internal anatomical features onto the user's own image. The user can interact with the images and view text about the anatomy. Not only could this technology provide a new avenue for anatomy education, it also could be used for patient education and educating the general public in a new and engaging way.
Augmented reality has also been used to view lung function and interaction in 3D, and to train surgeons on laparoscopic surgical techniques. The field of medicine appears ripe with opportunity to integrate augmented reality.
Photo by Dr.Farouk from Flickr under Creative Commons.
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