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Session: Arthur Boyer Award for Innovation in Medical Physics Education [Return to Session]

3D Projection Mapping for Dose Visualization in Radiation Oncology Physics Education

A Yock*, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Presentations

MO-FG-201-5 (Monday, 7/11/2022) 1:45 PM - 3:45 PM [Eastern Time (GMT-4)]

Room 201

Purpose: To implement a novel and immersive educational experience with 3D projection mapping to improve understanding and retention of radiation physics principles.

Methods: An extended reality 3D projection mapping system was used to generate educational content for a graduate-level radiation physics course. The system and content were used in an educational experience to reinforce concepts like the dependence of depth dose curves and dose profiles on source-to-surface distance, depth, field size, and energy. The system projected images simultaneously onto three orthogonal faces of a foam box representing a cubic water phantom beneath a linear accelerator. The images included dose distributions from beams of varying parameters as well as clinically oriented images, rendering previously invisible radiation and anatomy now visible. Also included were non-physical depictions such as a “split-beam” composed of 6MV and 15MV half-fields matched along central axis for direct comparison of energy. Students completed a short quiz before and after participating in the experience and provided feedback through an anonymous survey. The results of the quizzes and survey were compiled and are described here.

Results: Five students participated in the exercise and volunteered to have their experience represented in this work. Although students changed some answers between the first and the second quiz, there was no net change in overall quiz score as students averaged 2.8 incorrect answers out of 11 questions for both quizzes. Nonetheless, the survey feedback was overwhelmingly positive. All students strongly agreed that the experience improved their ability to imagine dose in 3D, and either agreed or strongly agreed that it would help them retain information better than a didactic lecture.

Conclusion: While the efficacy of the experience was difficult to observe through the quiz results, student feedback suggests the experience succeeded in providing a meaningful new way to engage with course material.

Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: This project was supported in part by funds provided by Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center through the author's endowed directorship. The author reports patent pending status regarding use of the technological system as described in this work.

Keywords

Not Applicable / None Entered.

Taxonomy

Education: Comprehension

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