Embryonic heart development as an immersive experience: Unveiling learning effects and influential factors in virtual learning environments.

As the quality and availability of Virtual Reality (VR) technologies improve, their potential applications in medical education, particularly VR Learning Environments (VRLEs), are increasingly explored. VRLEs offer a dynamic platform where educators and students can interact, access materials, and engage in learning beyond traditional classrooms. However, questions remain about their long-term learning effects and potential confounding factors.

CardioGenesis4D: Interactive Morphological Transitions of Embryonic Heart Development in a Virtual Learning Environment.

In the embryonic human heart, complex dynamic shape changes take place in a short period of time on a microscopic scale, making this development difficult to visualize. However, spatial understanding of these processes is essential for students and future cardiologists to properly diagnose and treat congenital heart defects. Following a user centered approach, the most crucial embryological stages were identified and translated into a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) to enable the understanding of the morphological transitions of these stages through advanced interactions.

Highly immersive virtual reality laparoscopy simulation: development and future aspects.

Purpose: Virtual reality (VR) applications with head-mounted displays (HMDs) have had an impact on information and multimedia technologies. The current work aimed to describe the process of developing a highly immersive VR simulation for laparoscopic surgery.

Methods: We combined a VR laparoscopy simulator (LapSim) and a VR-HMD to create a user-friendly VR simulation scenario.