The Benefits of an Augmented Reality Magic Mirror System for Integrated Radiology Teaching in Gross Anatomy

Abstract

Early exposure to radiological cross-section images during introductory anatomy and dissection courses increases students' understanding of both anatomy and radiology. Novel technologies such as augmented reality (AR) offer unique advantages for an interactive and hands-on integration with the student at the center of the learning experience. In this article, the benefits of a previously proposed AR Magic Mirror system are compared to the Anatomage, a virtual dissection table as a system for combined anatomy and radiology teaching during a two-semester gross anatomy course with 749 first-year medical students, as well as a follow-up elective course with 72 students. During the former, students worked with both systems in dedicated tutorial sessions which accompanied the anatomy lectures and provided survey-based feedback. In the elective course, participants were assigned to three groups and underwent a self-directed learning session using either Anatomage, Magic Mirror, or traditional radiology atlases. A pre- and posttest design with multiple choice questions revealed significant improvements in test scores between the two tests for both the Magic Mirror and the group using radiology atlases, while no significant differences in test scores were recorded for the Anatomage group. Furthermore, especially students with low mental rotation test (MRT) scores benefited from the Magic Mirror and Anatomage and achieved significantly higher posttest scores compared to students with a low MRT score in the theory group. Overall, the results provide supporting evidence that the Magic Mirror system achieves comparable results in terms of learning outcome to established anatomy learning tools such as Anatomage and radiology atlases.

Keywords: anatomy curriculum; augmented reality; clinical anatomy; gross anatomy education; novel teaching modalities; radiology education; spatial understanding; undergraduate education.

Figure 1

Screenshot of the magic mirror system. A, Augmented Reality (AR) view with virtual anatomy models superimposed on top of the digital mirror image of the user. B, annotated CT section image corresponding to the slice at the height of the virtual red circle in the AR view, controlled via intuitive hand gestures.

Figure 2

Two groups of medical students at the Ludwig‐Maximilians University in Munich interacting with A, the Magic Mirror and B, Anatomage table in a laboratory environment.

Figure 3

Exemplary multiple choice question from the pretest, with only one answer (D) being correct.

Figure 4

Percentages of correct answers achieved by students during both the pre and posttest. Questions could be classified either as image or text questions. Results are presented for each of the three groups (Magic Mirror, Anatomage, Atlas‐based Theory) individually as well as combined. Significant differences are indicated as ^a P < 0.05; ^b P < 0.001.