Use of the mixed reality tool "VSI Patient Education" on the HoloLens 2 for more illustrative patient education before functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS)
Henning Schewe, Hans‐Jürgen von Lücken, Patrick M. House, Adrian Münscher · Laryngo-Rhino-Otologie · 2022
Introduction Applications for mixed reality glasses both within medical education as well as in the preoperative and intraoperative phases have long exceeded the field of research. Regarding its use as a method for patient education before surgical interventions, however, available and reliable data remains very limited. Thus, the goal of this prospective randomized clinical study was to investigate if the use of the mixed reality tool "VSI Patient Education" (VSI PE) – as an application on the HoloLens 2 from Microsoft prior to FESS – is a superior alternative to the conventional form of patient education using CT images on the PC screen. Methods 20 patients (p.) with indications for FESS were included in the study. These were randomized into 2 subgroups. In both groups, patient education (PE) was provided using both the conventional method on the PC screen and the VSI PE tool (apoQlar). The subgroups differed with regards to the order in which the two forms of PE took place. Afterwards, the p. filled out a questionnaire. For statistical analysis, Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests were performed. Results The PE provided via VSI PE was perceived as significantly more coherent and intelligible. The education via VSI PE led to significantly less anxiety for p. Significantly more p. stated that information using a mixed reality tool such as the VSI PE could be the future standard for preoperative education. Conclusions For preoperative PE before sinus surgery, the VSI PE tool as an application on the HoloLens 2 from Microsoft is a promising way to significantly improve patient understanding and imagination before sinus surgery. As a result, fear and concerns about the procedure can be reduced and p. are considerably more likely to opt for a medically indicated surgery. Publication History Article published online: 24 May 2022 © 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Georg Thieme Verlag Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart,Germany