Mixed reality goggles add new dimension - Southern Cross University

Published: 11 November 2024

Health students at Southern Cross University are getting immersed in mixed reality learning, using GigXR educational technology to explore Anatomy and Physiology, Pathophysiology and Interprofessional Practice. This technology is partnered with sim-mannequins to practice clinical skills before real-world placements.

Faculty of Health Associate Dean (Education) Professor Fiona Naumann said the innovative partnership with GigXR has enabled Southern Cross University to “bring learning to life” with cutting-edge technology.

“With the Southern Cross model, we’ve taken the time to really look at what we were doing, how we were delivering information to the students, how we were supporting them to learn,” Professor Naumann said.

“What the team's done in transforming Anatomy and Physiology has been astounding. Student satisfaction from their learning was previously around about 60 percent and it's now thriving in 90 percent unit satisfaction,” Professor Naumann said.

So when you put on the goggles you can still see the rest of the room but there's like a holographic like kind of futuristic looking skeleton in the middle of the room and you can take layers away like the muscle or the organs or just have the bones which is pretty cool.

You can still see everybody else in the room it's kind of like hearing Iron Man or something like that.

It's more of a visual way of learning.

The Faculty of Health at Southern Cross university has partnered with gigXR and mixed reality to bring learning to life.

You do actually take a step back when you first put the goggles on because there's a person in the room with you and you have to work as a team to help that person that's sitting in front of you I was actually pretty cool because we always see all the organs and viscera flat in on the book and with the goggles we are able to see them in 3D and understand a little bit more how they works so we are able like touch them and take the some piece of like the heart off and see inside so the valves and all the stuff and yeah it's pretty cool.

The teacher in the class will be able to take you through the structure selected for example the heart and remove different layers of the heart in front of you and you also can use your X-ray vision through these goggles to give it a good skin and have a look at the healthy state what we call physiology and the disease state what we call pathology it's really cool to actually see how it works because I'm a really visual learner.

So the holographic skeleton and Anatomy really helped a lot.

It's an interactive way of learning that caters for the new generation and also with the latest technology the gigXR headset we usually use in daily life to play video games so what we call a mixed reality is pasting your real reality the room and the Hologram or in front of you through a very amazing pair of goggles.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and students love it because they are visual learners they love their engagement they love the social aspect and the community feel when they're in the classroom they feel like it builds their confidence and it helps them to understand things better in a real clinical setting.

So in addition to the mixed reality we also have patient simulations where we do have mannequins that take on a realistic persona and case and again student students have to work to look at the signs and symptoms of what's happening with that mannequin and devise management and care of that patient strategy.

It's realistic and a great way of our students then practising their clinical skills before they then enter the real world.

“The GigXR goggles are part of transforming that learning. When you put the goggles on, there could be a skeleton in the room with you that you can view at different layers.

“We also have patient simulations with mannequins that present a realistic persona and case, which is a great way of our students practising their clinical skills before they enter the real world.”

Dr Lily Guo said the advances of technology in the classroom are an interactive way of learning that caters for the new generation.

“These GigXR headsets would usually be used in everyday life to play video games, but in this case they place a hologram in front of you, all through a very amazing pair of goggles.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Students love it because they are visual learners. They love the engagement, the social aspect and the community feel when they're in the classroom. It builds their confidence, and it helps them better understand anatomy and physiology functions or real clinical settings.”

First year osteopathy student Patrick Agussol said while students previously learned all the organs and viscera in a flat textbook, “with the goggles we are able to see them in 3D and understand more how they work.”

“We are able to touch them and take some pieces of the heart off layer by layer to see inside, so it’s pretty cool.”

Learn more about studying health at Southern Cross University.