JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Organising a face-to-face, healthcare institution, multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting for the discussion of patient treatment plans can be time-consuming. The use of virtual reality (VR) technology may help enhance knowledge sharing between healthcare professionals and make meetings more efficient.

Objective:

To determine the effectiveness of virtual reality multidisciplinary team meetings VR (MDT) for enhancing knowledge sharing. Additionally, to evaluate the feasibility and usability of the VR (MDT) for use by professionals in healthcare institutions.

Methods:

Twelve participants, including four health informatics, three with a nursing background, two medical doctors, a radiologist, and two biostatisticians, were invited through emails. Participants were exposed to VR (MDT) using a Meta Quest 3 headset, and software developed using the Unity platform. The software, contained an onboarding tutorial that taught the participants to select items, load and rotate 3D DICOM files, talk to a generative AI supported avatar, and make notes. After the evaluation (approximately 15 minutes), participants received an electronic survey using the Qualtrics survey tool to evaluate the usability and feasibility of the software by responding to the 10-item System Usability Scale (SUS), and 12-point heuristic evaluation questions with Neilsen's severity rating.

Results:

The most common age bracket of participants was 30–40 years (n = 6, 46.1%). Most of the respondents had no experience with VR, either in educational or entertainment settings. Based on the usability score, the VR (MDT) received a mean score of 72.7 (range between 68-80.3), earning an overall “good” rating grade. The mean score of single items in the heuristic evaluation questionnaires was less than 1 out of 4 (the overall mean was 0.6), which indicates only minor problems when using this software. Overall, participants feedback was good with highlighted issues including a poor internet connection and the quality of the generative AI response.

Conclusions:

VR (MDT) software (developed by SentiraXR; www.sentiraxr.com) was developed with several functions aimed to help healthcare professionals to discuss medical conditions efficiently. Participants found that the VR(MDT) is an effective tool for enhancing knowledge sharing among professionals who are involved in multi-disciplinary team meetings due to its functionality and multiuser interactive environments. Additionally, there may be the possibility of using it for training of junior professionals.