University of Illinois College of Medicine Transforms Medical Education with VR

In late 2017, leaders at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP) designed dedicated virtual reality labs for advanced student learning. Using Enduvo software, HP workstations, and HTC Vive headsets, professors built VR-based anatomy lessons and studied how faculty and students responded. By early 2018, VR was transforming how the College thought about its curriculum — complex coursework delivered efficiently, yielding higher orders of knowledge and preparing future practitioners to handle difficult procedures with greater confidence.

From a 3D-printed heart to a scalable platform

The story starts in 2015, when Dr. Matthew Bramlet — a pediatric cardiologist and University of Illinois assistant professor — printed a three-dimensional heart from MRI and CT scans. It was an extremely effective teaching aid, but it couldn't scale. Virtual reality could. Convinced of the potential, Dr. Bramlet developed software to build 3D learning models and multimedia content, then founded Enduvo to make immersive teaching accessible to everyone — letting teachers and medical practitioners import their materials and record themselves delivering courseware.

Purpose-built VR labs

In 2017, Dr. Bramlet and Dr. David Dominguese, research assistant professor of anatomy and director of technology for anatomy, were awarded a substantial grant — supported by the UICOMP Dean's Award for Innovative Medical Student Education and the OSF Healthcare Foundation — to build the labs. The main space put six ceiling-mounted workstations, each running Enduvo with HTC Vive Business Edition headsets and mirrored display monitors, plus a 96-inch wall screen, into 1,107 square feet of dynamic teaching space for up to a dozen students. A second, smaller lab handled content creation.

A 60-minute lecture becomes three five-minute experiences

Using Enduvo, Dr. Dominguese merged patient CT scans and MRIs with images, video, and presentation slides — and converted a 60-minute knee-and-joint presentation into three five-minute, learning-objective-oriented VR experiences. Initial data showed more effective knowledge transfer than conventional instruction.

“Faculty use of VR is more like one-on-one, real world teaching. VR coursework is quick and easy to share and has high potential for better comprehension and retention.” — Dr. David Dominguese

Dr. Sonia Orcutt, assistant professor of surgery and surgical oncologist with the Peoria Surgical Group, imported a liver CT scan and segmented the virtual organ into parts for more dynamic instruction. “Liver anatomy is a very challenging topic, but VR gives students a realistic view of the organ inside the body,” she says. “What previously took years to really understand through lectures and clinical observation can now be accomplished faster and with deeper understanding of the topic.”

“The transformational nature of VR instruction will prepare students to be more successful practitioners and handle difficult procedures with confidence.” — Dr. Sonia Orcutt

From pilot to production

The first phase of the research produced convincing data: VR education is effective and readily accepted by teachers and students, who can set their own pace and schedule follow-up time when they need it. Phase two expands content development and opens the door for other medical schools to join the effort — Dr. Bramlet created six Enduvo tutorials to show other professors how to build their own content.

“Our department had few problems convincing healthcare executives to invest in VR-based learning after showing that some facilities spend $2 million for staff training while we could do it with a much lower budget.” — Dr. Matthew Bramlet, founder of Enduvo and Director, Congenital Cardiac MRI, Children's Hospital of Illinois