Who really needs a Metaverse in anatomy education? A review with preliminary survey results

The term Metaverse (“meta” defined as beyond, transcendence or virtuality, and “verse” meaning universe or world) denotes a “virtual reality space” for anatomy teaching. To ascertain how many anatomists are familiar or are using this adjunct in teaching, we conducted a short survey at the 2022 annua...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2023-01, Vol.36 (1), p.77-82
Main Authors: Iwanaga, Joe, Muo, Edward C., Tabira, Yoko, Watanabe, Koichi, Tubbs, Susan J., D'Antoni, Anthony V., Rajaram‐Gilkes, Mathangi, Loukas, Marios, Khalil, Mohammed K., Tubbs, R. Shane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomists
Anatomy
Anatomy - education
augmented reality
cadaver
Computer applications
COVID‐19
Curriculum
diversity
Education
Faculty
Health care
Humans
Medical personnel
Metaverse
mixed reality
pandemic
Physicians
Students, Medical
survey
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Virtual reality
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Summary:The term Metaverse (“meta” defined as beyond, transcendence or virtuality, and “verse” meaning universe or world) denotes a “virtual reality space” for anatomy teaching. To ascertain how many anatomists are familiar or are using this adjunct in teaching, we conducted a short survey at the 2022 annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Anatomists (AACA). Interestingly, only six respondents (9.4%) had used a Metaverse for teaching anatomy. Moreover, the vast majority of attendees were anatomy educators or basic science faculty, but not practicing physicians/surgeons or other actively practicing health care professionals; a group where this technology has been used much more commonly. The present manuscript was authored by anatomy educators, practicing physicians and other actively practicing health care professionals with backgrounds in diverse medical fields, that is, anatomists, medical doctors, physician assistants, dentists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, veterinarians, and medical students. Many of these authors have used or have been exposed to a Metaverse in the clinical realm. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to better understand those who are knowledgeable of a Metaverse and its use in anatomy education, and to provide ways forward for using such technology in this discipline.
ISSN:0897-3806
1098-2353
DOI:10.1002/ca.23949