Lake Como, Italy. 11.2021
Organizer – The Digital Dentistry Society Global Congress
Abstract:
A novel system aiming to disrupt the healthcare training industry with the first Virtual Reality (VR) Oral Radiology training solution is introduced. This training tool generates a radiation-free, fail-safe, realistic environment for dentists to master and extend their skills in obtaining state-of-the-art intraoral radiographic images in an affordable and portable solution. An educational tool for dental professionals to enhance the learning procedure with gamification elements, advanced interactability and cooperative features in an immersive VR operating theater is delivered. The proposed training tool is based on a fully customizable platform able to generate educational VR simulations with minimal adaptations.
Introduction:
According to World Health Organization our planet will need more than 40 million new doctors, nurses, frontline healthcare workers and other healthcare professionals by the year 2030, which is double the current medical workforce; thus resulting in a worldwide net shortage of 15 million health workers (1). Since the beginning of surgical education, there has not been much improvement on the apprenticeship-training model; cadaver models are used to train apprentice surgeons in addition to books, videos and on-the-job learning. In addition to the commonly used training mediums, the current course of a training surgeon requires the transfer of knowledge and skills from a master surgeon through tasks during a real surgery. This teaching method involves high learning-on-the-job demands (2). The existing training model might be unable to meet the level of healthcare professionals needed.
VR represents an artificial environment by software resembling or being completely different from the real world. VR technology allows users to interact with a computer-simulated environment. Empirical evidence from other industries clearly demonstrates VR technology is an effective and efficient way of improving training. VR implementation in medicine focuses on the rapid acceleration of human learning in medical training. It aims to provide technology for medical staff to reskill and upskill more effectively, without a large time investment. The combination of cognitive training in an experience-based learning virtual environment enabled by advanced VR software and hardware provides several advantages: unrestricted training time and increased training access during Covid-19 restrictions, remote training access facing growing demand for health professionals in countries with less developed infrastructure, competency evaluations for residents during simulated training. In recent decades, robotic simulations have been introduced to enhance surgical training by offering alternative solutions. However, due to the cost of such simulators it is difficult for independent surgeons to afford them on a large scale resulting in the use of solutions including AR/VR platforms for advanced training (3). The novel dental training tool introduced offers a great supplementary tool for VR dental training; prototyping and delivering a variety of simulated dental operations in a fail-safe environment due to a fully customizable platform is feasible.
Results:
Training in a virtual environment results in increased trainee engagement and knowledge retention (70%) compared to videos (10%) or lecturing (5%) (4); additionally, training in VR results in decreased training timeand decreased training costs (2). Our methodology transforms dental training to a cost-effective, easily and broadly accessible process. The latter is accomplished by prototyping the learning pipeline into structured, independent and reusable segments, which are used to generate more complex behaviors.
Conclusions: The majority of VR simulators primary provide training, neglecting the educational factor (5). Training refers to the acquisition of skills whereas education refers to the acquisition of knowledge and information. VR-simulation improves surgical skills; it is anticipated that VR simulation will become an indispensable part of orthopedic surgical education (6). The introduced dental radiology training tool integrates an educational curriculum to enhance knowledge and skills. Gamification elements linked with narration are also integrated for additional challenges as a key motivational factor for users to repeat their training. An intelligent VR training simulation for dental healthcare professionals results in a proven skills transfer and embodied cognition in a fail-safe environment, in scalable training with low-cost and on-demand VR software, as well as in progress achieved through learning curricula faster, at lower cost and at highest fidelity.
References:
- Global Health Workforce Labor Market Projections for 2030. Liu JX, Goryakin Y, Maeda A et al. Hum Resour Health 15, 11 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-017-0187-2
- Psychomotor Surgical Training in Virtual Reality. Papagiannakis G, Trahanias P, Kenanidis E, Tsiridis E. Springer International Publishing, 2018 Cham, 827–830. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64177-5_41
- A Stable Real-time AR Framework for Training and Planning in Industrial Environments. Vacchetti L, Lepetit V, Ponder M, Papagiannakis G, Fua P, Thalmann D, Magnenat Thalmann N. Springer London 2004, London, 129–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3873-0_8
- Accenture Consulting, Bridging the skills gap in the future workforce, Accenture September 2018: 1-40
- Virtual Reality Simulation for the Operating Room: Proficiency-Based Training as a Paradigm Shift in Surgical Skills Training. Gallagher A, Matt RE, Howard C, Higgins G, Fried MP, Gerald M, Smith CD, Satava RM. Annals of Surgery 241 (2005), 364–372. https: //doi.org/10.1097/01.sla.0000151982.85062.80
- Virtual Reality Simulation Facilitates Resident Training in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Hooper J, Tsiridis E, Feng J, Schwarzkopf R, Waren D, Long WJ, Poultsides L, Macaulay W, the NYU Virtual Reality Consortium. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2019.04.002
Keywords: virtual reality, surgical training, psychomotor simulation, knowledge retention, skill transfer, simulated training
Authors:
– Kleanthis Manolakis, DDS, Dr. Med. Dent, CEO Vired, Thessaloniki, Greece
– George Papagiannakis, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece, and Visiting Associate Professor, Centre Universitaire d’Informatique (CUI), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
– Christos Angelopoulos, DDS, PhD, Professor and Head, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Department, Dental School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
– Manolis Babatsikos, MSc Visual Arts, University of Manchester
