training whilst not stifling further development and links within their own centres.
References
Within universities this may take the form of ‘block-bookings’ used for individually
1. Radiotherapy: Developing a world class service for England. Report to Minister from
negotiated drop in sessions in addition to other timetabled sessions linked to specific
National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG), May 2007.
aspects of the curriculum. Such an approach will also allow educators to tailor the
2. http://www.vertual .co.uk/ Last accessed 2 February 2009.
use of VERT to individual needs and make more effective use of user tracking. With
3. Beavis A, Phillips R and Ward J. Radiotherapy training tools for yesterday’s future,
Imaging and Oncology, pp 30-35, 2007.
regard to dosimetrists using VERT for enhancing clinical work then it is perhaps
obvious to encourage them to do this with students. The necessity for universities
4. Phillips R, Ward J, Page L, Grau C, Bojen A, Hall J, Nielsen K, Nordentoft N, Beavis A.
Virtual Reality Training for Radiotherapy becomes a Reality, Proceedings of Medicine
and their associated placement centres to work together in making effective use of
Meets Virtual Reality 16, Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 132, pp 366-
VERT and maximising the use of the resource cannot be overemphasised. 371, 2008.
5. Bridge P, Appleyard R, Ward J et al. The development and evaluation of a virtual
Those managing VERT resources at a local level need to be cognisant of the
radiotherapy treatment machine using an immersive visualisation environment
ongoing maintenance costs. Significant amongst these is the cost of projector
Computers and Education 49, pp481-494, 2007.
bulbs for the Immersive VERT system. These have a life span of approximately
6. Winn WD, Jackson R. Fourteen propositions about educational applications of virtual
reality. Educational Technology 39(4), 3-14, 1999.
1500 hours and the cost of replacing both bulbs together approaches £3000. So,
7. Dalgarno B, Hedberg J and Harper B. The Contribution of 3D Environments to
although it is important to maximise the use of the resource, it would be unwise
Conceptual Understanding. In A Williamson, C Gunn, A Young and T Clear (Eds)
to use the VERT facility for simple projection of, say, PowerPoint presentations. Winds of change in the sea of learning: Charting the course of digital education,
proceedings of the 19th annual conference of the Australasian Society for Computers
Conclusion
in Learning in Tertiary Education, pp. 149-158, 2002.
VERT is a novel adjunct to radiotherapy education and training and, although
8. McCloy R, Stone R. Virtual reality in surgery. British Medical Journal 323, pp 912-5,
2001.
there is a clear rationale for its use, it is still too early to draw any significant
conclusions regarding its effectiveness. It is clear that students find the technology
9. Kheener M, Tendick F, Meng M, Anwar H, Hegarty M, Stoller M, Duh Q-Y. Spatial
ability, experience and skill in laparoscopic surgery. American journal of surgery. 188,
engaging and enjoyable although minor side effects such as headaches and
pp 71-75, 2004.
eye strain are reported. As VERT is being integrated into curricula, evidence is
10. Srinivasan S, Mital D, Haque S. A quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of
beginning to emerge to support the notion that the student learning experience laparoscopy and endoscopy virtual reality simulators. Computers and Electrical
is being enhanced. Those ‘light bulb’ learning moments are difficult to predict but
Engineering Vol32, pp283-298, 2006.
continue to be noted and recorded. Evidence is also beginning to surface regarding
11. Winn WD. Current trends in educational technology research: The study of learning
enhanced skills and confidence in first year students as they enter their initial
environments. Educational Psychology Review, 14(3), pp331-351, 2002.
clinical placement. However, it is necessary to establish more fully the efficacy of
12. Winn WD. What We Have Learned About VR and Learning and What We Still Need to
Study. In: Proceedings of Laval Virtual 2005.
VERT in terms of its educational value and how best to optimise its use. The VERT
13. Appleyard R. Improving student radiographers’ anatomical knowledge using
project evaluation strategy is playing a significant part in achieving this.
immersive visualization technology. Presented at College of Radiographer Annual
Radiotherapy Conference. February 2008.
It is becoming clear that universities without their own TPS are in a less advantageous
14. Gallagher A, Cates C. Virtual reality training for the operating room and cardiac
position in relation to making the most of their VERT facility and efforts to seek funding catheterisation laboratory. Lancet Vol364, pp1538-1540, 2004.
for such systems to supplement the VERT technology need to be made. 15. Johnson DM. Introduction to and review of simulator sickness research. US Army
Research Institute Research Report 1832, 2005.
Finally, effective management of VERT at a local level is vital. Maximising use of
16. The Visible Human Project. National Library of Medicine, USA.
the resource within the radiotherapy curricula is yet to be fully achieved but local
17. La Viola JJ. A discussion of cybersickness in virtual environments. SIGCHI Bulletin
user groups are establishing themselves and considerable effort is being made to
32:1, pp47-56, 2000.
enhance integration of this very promising technology.
18. Flinton D et al. Preliminary findings on the VERT training system: Simulator sickness
and presence. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice, in press 2009.
Rob Appleyard is a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University,
Louise Coleman is a senior lecturer at University College Suffolk;
jointly, they are the VERT project co-ordinators.
2009
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IMAGING & ONCOLOGY
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