Curnier François
Geneva Dental School, Department of Cariology, University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland.
Int J Comput Dent. 2010;13(3):251-63.
After a brief historical introduction of virtual reality, the article focuses on why virtual reality is the next step in dental education. Contrary to existing systems for preclinical courses, such as plastic teeth and dummies, virtual reality has no limitations in terms of clinical case studies, objective evaluation, and interactivity. For the past six years we have been developing innovative concepts using force feedback arms and computer 3D simulation at the University of Geneva. After describing the simulator itself, we discuss the results of a preliminary survey we initiated in 2006. The survey concerns the teaching of dental anatomy using 3D rendering capabilities of the simulator for third-year students of the University of Geneva. The aim was to validate the added value of IT integration into our curriculum. The results showed that 70% of the students were satisfied or very satisfied with this module and that the simulation boosted their motivation to learn anatomy. It also became evident that IT did not introduce a supplemental complexity that reduced teaching efficiency. This was a clear message for us to develop a second-generation virtual reality dental simulator with improved tactile features to teach drilling procedures.
在对虚拟现实进行简要的历史介绍之后，本文重点探讨了为何虚拟现实是牙科教育的下一步发展方向。与现有的临床前课程系统，如塑料牙齿和模型不同，虚拟现实在临床案例研究、客观评估和交互性方面没有限制。在过去六年里，我们在日内瓦大学一直利用力反馈臂和计算机3D模拟技术开发创新概念。在描述了模拟器本身之后，我们讨论了2006年启动的一项初步调查的结果。该调查涉及使用模拟器的3D渲染功能对日内瓦大学三年级学生进行牙体解剖学教学。目的是验证将信息技术整合到我们课程中的附加值。结果显示，70%的学生对该模块感到满意或非常满意，并且模拟提高了他们学习解剖学的积极性。同时也很明显，信息技术并没有引入降低教学效率的额外复杂性。这给了我们一个明确的信号，即开发具有改进触觉功能的第二代虚拟现实牙科模拟器来教授钻孔程序。
