Neuroanatomy is a notoriously challenging subject for many students to master. The phenomenon of students having difficulties in mastering this discipline is so widespread that Ralph F. Jozephivicz coined term “neurophobia” in 1994, which he defined as “a fear of neural sciences and clinical neurology that is due to the students’ inability to apply their knowledge of basic sciences to clinical situations”.
In order to successfully learn neuroanatomy, student must possess strong spatial skills in order to be able to visualise complex neuroanatomical structures and their relations to each other. Traditional learning resources such as textbooks and atlases can only provide 2D rendering of the complex 3D neuroanatomical structures, which makes learning process very cumbersome.
Cadaveric dissection, which is currently regarded a golden standard of learning and teaching anatomy, present some major challenges, from both practical and ethical angles, which need to be taken into consideration.
With an increasing demand for neurologists and specialists in adjacent disciplines, neurophobia amongst medical and life-science students presents a serious issue.
Using emerging technologies such as 3D and augmented reality (AR) for teaching anatomy (including neuroanatomy) has been proven to be effective in improving academic performance of the students. These technologies add elements of novelty, which helps make the learning experience more exciting and enjoyable for students. This, in turn, increases students’ motivation and, subsequently, improves their learning outcomes.
After looking at the previous research, the decision was made to develop a mobile application, featuring AR element and an interactive 3D model, which could be used as a learning tool by anyone who wishes to learn brain anatomy. The app features three scenes (AR, 3D, and 2D, and a short quiz. AR functionality relies on an accompanying PDF booklet, which contains AR-targets and instructions on how to download and use the app.
The app was tested by twelve volunteers that were recruited through the XRDRN network (www.xrdrn.org/) and social media (e.g. linkedin.com, twitter.com). Overall, findings indicate the high usability of the application. The study results also demonstrated significant improvement of the neuroanatomy knowledge among the participants.
While this study has some limitations, the developed application has the potential to become a valuable learning aid for anyone seeking to learn neuroanatomy.