SKilletonVR Oculus Quest
Traditionally veterinary science is taught with 2D diagrams, photographs and medical imaging scans that show a fixed viewpoint. These 2D representations of 3D objects lead to the loss of spatial information, which can present problems when translating this into real life (Raffan, et al., 2017). There is also the use of cadavers in teaching the gross anatomy of the animal however there are financial, ethical, and supervisory constraints on their use (Moro, et al., 2017). There has been a progression to move towards alternative digital models and interactive 3D models to engage the user in self-paced learning and consolidate specific knowledge (Christ, et al., 2018). Technological advances with interactive 3D anatomical models have become established in medical training, yet these advances haven’t been carried over to veterinary education. The use of VR, AR, and MR has had a positive impact on the way students learn and should be integrated into the education system to help students engage with their learning materials and to grasp a larger understanding of their field of interest (Guze, 2015).
Therefore this project aimed to design and create a VR application that would aid the learning of the canine skeleton for veterinary students and to provide the backbone for other applications to be created integrating other areas of canine anatomy and even other species of animals.
The final application provided the user with an interactive environment where they can listen to audio recordings, compare diagrams to the models and test their learning on a quiz.
The limitations of this project were that a full-scale application wasn’t accomplished however the application made shows the main concepts required and provides a foundation for it to be built upon. The application also didn’t go through any evaluative processes from outside sources. This means that one of the future considerations for this application is to have its usability tested. Another future consideration is to expand the application to have mini-games and to include the entire canine skeleton.
The SKilletonVR Application was developed as part of a research project for the MSc Medical Visualisation & Human Anatomy at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow. The application was designed and created by Hannah Horne, MSc student of GSA & UoG, with supervision and contributions by Dr Matthieu Poyade, Dr Paul Rea, Dr Julien Guevar, Dr Eli Cohen, and Dr Rodrigo Gutierrez-Quintana.
For anyone with their own oculus quest wishing to try the application email me for the APK file! h.horne1@student.gsa.ac.uk
