Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study
Introduction: Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used in medical and health sciences education since the late twentieth century. VR complements the conventional teaching and learning (T&L) approach by providing an engaging and immersive 3D spatial learning environment, especially for understan...
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| Format: | Article |
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National University of Singapore
2025-07-01
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| Series: | The Asia Pacific Scholar |
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| Online Access: | https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/taps/head-mounted-display-based-hmd-vs-desktop-based-db-virtual-reality-anatomy-a-preliminary-usability-study/ |
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| author | Zaitunnatakhin Zamli Rohaini Ramli Hidayah Sulaiman Mohd Zulfaezal Che Azemin Wan Muhamad Salahudin Wan Salleh Nurul Asyiqin Yusof Imran Mahalil Azmi Mohd. Yusof |
| author_facet | Zaitunnatakhin Zamli Rohaini Ramli Hidayah Sulaiman Mohd Zulfaezal Che Azemin Wan Muhamad Salahudin Wan Salleh Nurul Asyiqin Yusof Imran Mahalil Azmi Mohd. Yusof |
| author_sort | Zaitunnatakhin Zamli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used in medical and health sciences education since the late twentieth century. VR complements the conventional teaching and learning (T&L) approach by providing an engaging and immersive 3D spatial learning environment, especially for understanding the orientation of anatomical structures. Despite these advantages, the usability and student preference of highly immersive head-mounted display-based (HMD) and less immersive desktop-based (DB) VR in human anatomy courses have yet to be determined.
Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 49 Year-2 medical students were recruited through a convenient sampling. The participants were asked to identify 15 skeletal system components using the HMD and DB platform with human anatomy VR application. Both applications’ System Usability Scale (SUS) and preference scores were obtained via a self-administered questionnaire. The data were expressed as median [IQR] and statistically analysed using MATLAB R2022b.
Results: Most participants preferred the HMD over the DB platform (p=0.04), especially the male participants (p=0.01). There was no significant difference in overall SUS scores between both platforms (p=0.14). However, when compared within and between genders, females scored significantly higher in the DB than HMD (p=0.02) and higher than males’ DB SUS scores (p=0.03).
Conclusion: The overall usability of HMD was comparable with the DB platform for learning human anatomy. Although most participants prefer to use the HMD, further exploration of why females prefer the DB is needed. Subsequently, VR application developers must consider gender-related adaptions to promote the equitability and inclusivity of the technology for all users. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-236e00047f63430abaaca8e5ccb75de8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2424-9335 2424-9270 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | National University of Singapore |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Asia Pacific Scholar |
| spelling | doaj-art-236e00047f63430abaaca8e5ccb75de82025-08-20T02:32:03ZengNational University of SingaporeThe Asia Pacific Scholar2424-93352424-92702025-07-01103808310.29060/TAPS.2025-10-3/SC3470Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability studyZaitunnatakhin Zamli0Rohaini Ramli1Hidayah Sulaiman2Mohd Zulfaezal Che Azemin3Wan Muhamad Salahudin Wan Salleh4Nurul Asyiqin Yusof5Imran Mahalil6Azmi Mohd. Yusof7Department of Biomedical Science, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, MalaysiaDepartment of Informatics, College of Computing & Informatics, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, MalaysiaDepartment of Informatics, College of Computing & Informatics, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, MalaysiaDepartment of Optometry and Visual Sciences, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, MalaysiaDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia, MalaysiaDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, MalaysiaDepartment of Informatics, College of Computing & Informatics, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, MalaysiaDepartment of Informatics, College of Computing & Informatics, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, MalaysiaIntroduction: Virtual reality (VR) has been widely used in medical and health sciences education since the late twentieth century. VR complements the conventional teaching and learning (T&L) approach by providing an engaging and immersive 3D spatial learning environment, especially for understanding the orientation of anatomical structures. Despite these advantages, the usability and student preference of highly immersive head-mounted display-based (HMD) and less immersive desktop-based (DB) VR in human anatomy courses have yet to be determined. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 49 Year-2 medical students were recruited through a convenient sampling. The participants were asked to identify 15 skeletal system components using the HMD and DB platform with human anatomy VR application. Both applications’ System Usability Scale (SUS) and preference scores were obtained via a self-administered questionnaire. The data were expressed as median [IQR] and statistically analysed using MATLAB R2022b. Results: Most participants preferred the HMD over the DB platform (p=0.04), especially the male participants (p=0.01). There was no significant difference in overall SUS scores between both platforms (p=0.14). However, when compared within and between genders, females scored significantly higher in the DB than HMD (p=0.02) and higher than males’ DB SUS scores (p=0.03). Conclusion: The overall usability of HMD was comparable with the DB platform for learning human anatomy. Although most participants prefer to use the HMD, further exploration of why females prefer the DB is needed. Subsequently, VR application developers must consider gender-related adaptions to promote the equitability and inclusivity of the technology for all users. https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/taps/head-mounted-display-based-hmd-vs-desktop-based-db-virtual-reality-anatomy-a-preliminary-usability-study/human anatomyvirtual realityhead-mounted displaydesktop-based applicationusabilitypreference |
| spellingShingle | Zaitunnatakhin Zamli Rohaini Ramli Hidayah Sulaiman Mohd Zulfaezal Che Azemin Wan Muhamad Salahudin Wan Salleh Nurul Asyiqin Yusof Imran Mahalil Azmi Mohd. Yusof Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study The Asia Pacific Scholar human anatomy virtual reality head-mounted display desktop-based application usability preference |
| title | Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study |
| title_full | Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study |
| title_fullStr | Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study |
| title_short | Head-mounted display-based (HMD) vs desktop-based (DB) virtual reality anatomy: A preliminary usability study |
| title_sort | head mounted display based hmd vs desktop based db virtual reality anatomy a preliminary usability study |
| topic | human anatomy virtual reality head-mounted display desktop-based application usability preference |
| url | https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/taps/head-mounted-display-based-hmd-vs-desktop-based-db-virtual-reality-anatomy-a-preliminary-usability-study/ |
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