Improving simulation with medical task trainers using mixed reality

Abstract

Medical simulators, such as manikins and task trainers, are commonly used for skill development in nursing education. Existing simulators have tradeoffs in their abilities to simulate physical conditions, support patient communication, provide hands-on skill development, or in their expense. To address these shortcomings, a mixed reality (MR) system was developed, enhancing a medical task trainer with a virtual patient, which was compared against a standardized patient actor (SP). Results indicate that the MR system supported learning as well as the SP, while reducing learners’ feelings of stress. The MR system also improved the ability to recognize a medical emergency based on physical symptoms that the SP could not replicate. Despite the MR system using scripted dialogue, participants practiced their communication skills in a similar manner to the SP. Our work demonstrates the viability of MR simulators for providing simultaneous hands-on skill development, communication, and procedure training in health education.