The XR Classroom is located in the EHSEB Room 2880. It is a fully-equipped VR space that can host up to 20 students with their own wireless Oculus Quest 2 headsets. Schedule today by reaching out to ehsl-techies@lists.utah.edu.
The Eccles Health Sciences Library supports projects using virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) to aid healthcare educators. The library supports The GApp Lab who develops customized experiences involving simulations, education lessons, and interactive displays. See below for past projects, ways to get involved, and resources to discover VR/AR.
The School of Dentistry funded the development of multiple educational modules in VR to train new dentists. Procedures done in VR are proving to save costs and aid in students learning concepts quickly. A recent article, Digitally Augmented Learning in Implant Dentistry, by Durham, Engel, Ferrill, halford, Singh and Gladwell highlights the technology including using it to help with direct and indirect dentistry, restorative implants, dental anatomy, dental radiology and digital grading. A video highlights some of the uses of the technology and tells the story of a group from Dentistry that traveled to India to teach over 100 pre-dentistry students using the technology.
The Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine funded developing a simulation experience to help doctors make decisions as a team leader during a trauma situation to gain practice in calling directions for an infinite amount of scenarios and cases. Cases are being developed closely using already existing parameters set forth through cases created through in-person trauma simulations on-site using dummies. The project will help give trainees ample opportunities to practice commands and give directions while providing feedback for increased efficiency to save lives.
Student developers, artists and librarians teamed up to create an interactive experience to complement an online and in-person exhibit by the National Library of Medicine titled, "Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine in Harry Potter's World." The primary purpose of the project is to increase the understanding of how augmented reality adds to experiences with viewers more so than traditional experiences, like viewing text, videos, or pictures.
Faculty from the Neuro-Ophthalmology Department and Moran Eye Center teamed up with developers to make a 3D tour of the eye. This module helps medical students grasp the pathophysiology of the eye and how it connects to anatomy. It helps students understand anatomical relationships. We hope this product can be published alongside artifacts currently digitized in the Moran Core and NOVEL platforms, and will be made available through the Eccles Library Digital Collections.
There are multiple ways to get involved:
We have VR headsets to checkout, including
Play is first-come, first-serve and a specialist in the lab can assist you if you have questions. You can email ehsl-techies@lists.utah.edu for more information.
Many current VR experiences are created with Unity (http://unity3d.com), which is a common game design tool. There are a huge number of tutorials (for VR and non-VR use) available.
