In the degrees in health sciences (i.e. Nursing, Medicine or Midwifery), the acquisition of skills for the performance of invasive techniques or procedures (that is techniques that imply the “invasion” of some part of the body with needles, tubes or other devices) depends largely on practical training in simulation rooms. In these rooms, task trainers that reproduce a part of the human body are used. These task trainers are designed to provide as faithfully as possible the sensations that may be experienced when performing the procedure on a real person. However they do not incorporate any further technology beyond the materials with which they have been manufactured. When students practice invasive techniques using this type of task trainers, they make the effort of imagining the internal anatomical structures, something essential in order to perform this type of invasive techniques. The visualization of these internal structures when practicing on task trainers could be addressed by means of using the augmented reality (AR). The AR has as main characteristic the combination of reality with virtual images. An example, is the Nintendo’s game “Pokemon Go®” based on the AR technology which combines images of the real world with the appearance and interaction of virtual pokemons. Consequently, the main purpose of this project is to develop an AR software, named “ARSim2Care”, that will work with special glasses and, combined with the task trainers will allow students the visualization of internal anatomical structures in order to acquire technical skills in the performance of clinical invasive procedures. This software will be supplemented by a Manual of Clinical Procedures and the Educational Material associated with the software. An association of three higher education institutions, UPNA, ESEnfC and EhB, and the Spanish company iAR has been constituted. The ESEnfC and the EhB are two institutions that are currently leaders in clinical simulation with their centers: Clinical Practice Simulation Center (ESEnfC) and the Brussels Integrated Care Simulation Centre (BIC-EhB). The UPNA and iAR company provide the necessary experience for the development and application of AR into the healthcare field. The partners, do not only conceal all the specialization areas needed in order to develop the project, but also cover, from a linguistic and territorial point of view, French, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish-speaking regions bringing in new opportunities and standpoints that would enrich this project. Two higher education institutions from Latin America, ISALUD in Argentina and the UEES of El Salvador, will participate as associated partners in the project. Different activities have been planned to complete the development of the different intellectual products, the training of teachers and students and the subsequent dissemination of the product and findings of the project. For that purpose, several strategies will be used, such as: collaborative web tools work, (face-to-face and virtual meetings) transnational working meetings, 3D images and AR development. Additionally, mobility activities have been planned for lecturers’ training and the assessment of the usability of the ARSim2Care software The main tangible results expected from this project are the ARSim2Care software, a Manual of Clinical Procedures, and the Educative Material associated with the Software. Additionally, there will be several intangible results that will be generated during and after the elaboration of the project, such as the improvement of the acquisition of technical, digital and language skills by the students, the specialization of teachers through the incorporation of AR to training, the enrichment of pedagogical practice, and the collaboration between higher education institutions, amongst others. These results will have a long-term benefit on the care offered to patients and their quality of life. The improvement of the technical skills and techniques provided by healthcare professionals should translate into excellent care.
In the degrees in health sciences (i.e. Nursing, Medicine or Midwifery), the acquisition of skills for the performance of invasive techniques or procedures (that is techniques that imply the “invasion” of some part of the body with needles, tubes or other devices) depends largely on practical training in simulation rooms. In these rooms, task trainers that reproduce a part of the human body are used. These task trainers are designed to provide as faithfully as possible the sensations that may be experienced when performing the procedure on a real person. However they do not incorporate any further technology beyond the materials with which they have been manufactured. When students practice invasive techniques using this type of task trainers, they make the effort of imagining the internal anatomical structures, something essential in order to perform this type of invasive techniques. The main purpose of this project was to integrate the HoloLens-based Augmented Reality (AR) technology in invasive procedures training, making possible the visualization of internal anatomical structures by the students while they are practising on the task trainers. The main feature of AR is the combination of the visualization of the real world together with the visualization of virtual images. To do that, an AR software, named ARSim2Care, has been developed, supplemented by a Manual of Clinical Procedures and the Educational Material associated with the software; all of these are available in four languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Nederlands.The project has been carried out by three higher education institutions, the UPNA in Spain, the ESEnfC in Portugal and the EhB in Belgium, in addition to a Spanish company, iAR. Moreover, the Sant Joan de Deu Campus Docent in Barcelona and the University of Manresa have adhered to the project. Different activities have been performed to complete the development of the different intellectual products, the training of teachers and students and the subsequent dissemination of the product and findings of the project. On one hand, different transnational meetings made possible the coordination of the intellectual outputs and the global management of the project. A total of 18 teachers from the partner universities and members of the technological company participated in these meetings. On the other hand, a five-days workshop was organised focussed on the AR application in the field of health sciences, in which 15 nursing students and 6 teachers from partner universities participated. In this workshop, a preliminary assessment of the functionality of the prototype of the software Arsim2care was performed. Additionally, a virtual workshop about AR and the software Arsim2care was held with the participation of 15 nursing teachers from the partner universities. In this meeting, the training material associated with the software was developed. Lastly, a multiplicator event, which consisted in a “Online workshop about the application of new technologies in Health Sciences Education”, offered the opportunity of presenting information about serius games, AR and virtual reality in Health Sciences Education, and the final results of the project. A total of 136 teachers and healthcare professionals from Spain and Lationamerica participated in this workshop. It should be noted that 50 nursing students from the universities associated with the project (Sant Joan de Deu de Barcelona Campus Docent and the University of Manresa) participated in the final assessment of the prototype of the software Arsim2care. The impact of the project has been important at different levels and for different groups. Numerous written media echoed the project and the project leaders participated in conferences and workshops expressly invited to talk about the project. The students who assessed the software considered that the impact of it on their training may be very beneficial, as it increases their motivation and stimulates their active learning, increasing their interest on the topic under study. Similarly, the teachers considered that the possibility of visualizing the anatomical internal structures during the training of clinical invasive procedures is an added advantage to the traditional training of this subject. In conclusion, this is a way to increase the quality of the training for future healthcare professionals, that will undoubtedly affect the care they will provide in their future professional activity. Indeed, these results will have a long-term benefit on the care offered to patients and their quality of life. The improvement of the technical skills and techniques provided by healthcare professionals should translate into excellent care.