Wang Liam J, Casto Brian, Reyes-Molyneux Nancy, Chance William W, Wang Samuel J
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Salem Health, 895 Oak St SE, Salem, OR 97301, United States.
Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. 2023 Dec 19;29:100229. doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2023.100229. eCollection 2024 Mar.
We built an augmented reality (AR) patient education application for portable iOS and Android devices that allows patients to view a virtual simulation of themselves receiving radiation treatment. We created software that reads data from the clinical treatment planning system and renders the patient's actual radiotherapy plan in AR on a tablet or smartphone. The patient's CT simulation data are converted into a 3D translucent virtual human shown being treated with visible radiation beams from a virtual linear accelerator. We conducted a patient study to determine if showing patients this AR simulation improves patient understanding of radiotherapy and/or reduces anxiety about treatment. A total of 75 patients completed this study. The most common plans were 3D breast tangents and intensity modulated radiotherapy lung plans. Patients were administered questionnaires both before and after their AR viewing experience. After their AR viewing, 95% of patients indicated that they had a better understanding of how radiotherapy will be used to treat their cancer. Of the 35 patients who expressed anxiety about radiotherapy beforehand, 21 (60%) indicated that they had decreased anxiety after the AR session. In our single-arm prospective patient study, we found that this simplified low-cost tablet-based personalized AR simulation can be a helpful educational tool for cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
我们为便携式iOS和安卓设备开发了一款增强现实（AR）患者教育应用程序，该程序能让患者查看自己接受放射治疗的虚拟模拟场景。我们创建了一款软件，它能从临床治疗计划系统读取数据，并在平板电脑或智能手机上以AR形式呈现患者的实际放射治疗计划。患者的CT模拟数据被转换为一个3D半透明虚拟人体，显示其正在接受来自虚拟直线加速器的可见辐射束治疗。我们开展了一项患者研究，以确定向患者展示这种AR模拟是否能提高患者对放射治疗的理解和/或减轻对治疗的焦虑。共有75名患者完成了这项研究。最常见的治疗计划是3D乳腺切线照射和调强放射治疗肺部计划。在患者进行AR观看体验前后，均对他们进行问卷调查。在观看AR之后，95%的患者表示他们对放射治疗如何用于治疗自己的癌症有了更好的理解。在事先对放射治疗表示焦虑的35名患者中，有21名（60%）表示在AR体验后焦虑有所减轻。在我们的单臂前瞻性患者研究中，我们发现这种基于平板电脑的简化低成本个性化AR模拟对于正在接受放射治疗的癌症患者来说可能是一种有用的教育工具。
