Approaching diversity in anatomical education through metaverse

Abstract

Background Human anatomy is a foundational and indispensable subject within health sciences education, particularly for students pursuing careers in medicine and nursing. The metaverse, a technological concept leveraging immersive technology, connectivity, and custom 3D experiences, offers an opportunity to address the challenges of diversifying anatomical education. Methods In this paper, we present insights from our extensive experience using the metaverse to integrate innovative pedagogical strategies and provide access to scarce educational resources and laboratory materials. We also explore the capacity of artificial intelligence for enhancing the metaverse. A new framework for addressing the challenges of diversification in anatomical education is proposed, outlining the design, key features, and core technologies of the educational metaverse. Results We present arguments that may answer common questions posed by anatomy educators regarding the adoption of this technology in their curricula. We then make a re-analysis of our findings from practical experiments within the metaverse, including quantitative and qualitative questionnaire interpretation, contrasting student experiences, and exploration of new AI-driven features, to focus on the role of the metaverse in fostering diversity in anatomical education. Conclusions Our work intends to introduce a novel technological resource for approaching diversity in anatomical education. We conclude that the metaverse can facilitate the diversification of anatomical education by providing access to scarce educational resources and laboratory materials. Furthermore, we pave the way for new tutoring approaches for non-standard student groups, the personalization of content, and the implementation of specific assessments. Finally, we provide essential takeaways and outline future directions and challenges for this ongoing research area.