A comprehensive method to design and assess mixed reality simulations

AbstractThe scientific literature highlights how Mixed Reality (MR) simulations allow obtaining several benefits in healthcare education. Simulation-based training, boosted by MR, offers an exciting and immersive learning experience that helps health professionals to acquire knowledge and skills, without exposing patients to unnecessary risks. High engagement, informational overload, and unfamiliarity with virtual elements could expose students to cognitive overload and acute stress. The implementation of effective simulation design strategies able to preserve the psychological safety of learners and the investigation of the impacts and effects of simulations are two open challenges to be faced. In this context, the present study proposes a method to design a medical simulation and evaluate its effectiveness, with the final aim to achieve the learning outcomes and do not compromise the students' psychological safety. The method has been applied in the design and development of an MR application to simulate the rachicentesis procedure for diagnostic purposes in adults. The MR application has been tested by involving twenty students of the 6th year of Medicine and Surgery of Università Politecnica delle Marche. Multiple measurement techniques such as self-report, physiological indices, and observer ratings of performance, cognitive and emotional states of learners have been implemented to improve the rigour of the study. Also, a user-experience analysis has been accomplished to discriminate between two different devices: Vox Gear Plus® and Microsoft Hololens®. To compare the results with a reference, students performed the simulation also without using the MR application. The use of MR resulted in increased stress measured by physiological parameters without a high increase in perceived workload. It satisfies the objective to enhance the realism of the simulation without generating cognitive overload, which favours productive learning. The user experience (UX) has found greater benefits in involvement, immersion, and realism; however, it has emphasized the technological limitations of devices such as obstruction, loss of depth (Vox Gear Plus), and narrow FOV (Microsoft Hololens)

A Transdisciplinary Approach for the Design Optimization of Medical Simulations

Simulation in healthcare is rapidly replacing more traditional educational methods, becoming a fundamental step in the medical training path. Medical simulations have a remarkable impact not only on learners’ competencies and skills but also on their attitudes, behaviors, and emotions such as anxiety, stress, mental effort, and frustration. All these aspects are transferred to the real practice and reflected on patients’ safety and outcomes. The design of medical simulations passes through a careful analysis of learning objectives, technology to be used, instructor’s and learners’ roles, performance assessment, and so on. However, an overall methodology for the simulation assessment and consequent optimization is still lacking. The present work proposes a transdisciplinary framework for the analysis of simulation effectiveness in terms of learners’ performance, ergonomics conditions, and emotional states. It involves collaboration among different professional figures such as engineers, clinicians, specialized trainers, and human factors specialists. The aim is to define specific guidelines for the simulation optimization, to obtain enhanced learners’ performance, improved ergonomics, and consequently positively affect the patient treatment, leading to cost savings for the healthcare system. The proposed framework has been tested on a low-fidelity simulation for the training of rachicentesis and has allowed the definition of general rules for its enhancement

Implementazione della simulazione virtuale nelle attività formative professionalizzanti della Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia UNIVPM: progettazione di un laboratorio didattico sulla gestione del paziente critico in modalità blended

Virtual simulation is a type of simulation that places the participant in a central position, allowing the development of his “decision-making” in dynamic and immersive clinical environments both within and outside the hospital. The appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent impossibility of carrying out face-to-face lessons for safety reasons made it necessary to evaluate alternative teaching methods, such as virtual simulation. For this purpose, in the context of the Master's Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery of the Polytechnic University of Marche, it was fundamental and strategic to plan teaching in blended mode to guarantee the achievement of the educational objectives envisaged for the vocational training activities.La simulazione virtuale è un tipo di simulazione che pone il partecipante in una posizione centrale, permettendo lo sviluppo del suo “decision-making” in ambienti clinici dinamici ed immersivi sia intra, sia extra ospedalieri. La comparsa della pandemia COVID-19 e la conseguente impossibilità di effettuare lezioni in presenza per motivi di sicurezza, ha reso necessaria la valutazione di metodiche alternative di insegnamento, come per l’appunto la simulazione virtuale. A tale scopo, nell’ambito del Corso di Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico in Medicina e Chirurgia dell’Università Politecnica delle Marche, è risultato fondamentale e strategico progettare un’attività didattica in modalità blended a garanzia del raggiungimento degli obiettivi formativi previsti per le attività formative professionalizzanti. &nbsp

An extensive aging study of bakelite Resistive Plate Chambers

We present recent results of an extensive aging test, performed at the CERN Gamma Irradiation Facility, on two bakelite Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) detectors. With a method based on a model describing the behavior of an RPC exposed to a large particle flux, we have periodically measured the electrode resistivity rho of the two detectors over 3 years. We observed a large increase of rho with time, from initial values of about 10**1**0 Omega cm to more than 200 multiplied by 10**1**0 Omega cm. A corresponding degradation of the RPC rate capability, from about 3 kHz/cm**2 to less than 200 Hz/cm **2, was observed. The reversibility of the process, using a humid gas mixture, has also been studied

A model for RPC detectors operating at high rate

We present a simple model to describe the behavior of Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) exposed to a high particle flux. We show that the RPC current, I, saturates at large flux values and we explain why the dependence of I on the applied voltage Vo is essentially linear. We show that in the saturated regime the current is controlled by the value of the bulk electrode resitivity, rho, which is directly related to the perfomance of the detector at high particle rates. Measuring the I-Vo curve under these conditions offers a simple and direct method to obtain rho and to monitor its possible variations