Virtual Patientization: A Playable Design for Clinical Ultrasound Training by Embedding Virtual Lesions

Simulation training is utilized as part of ultrasound diagnostic practice in medical education. Representative simulation training includes practices using phantoms, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR). These methods provide training experiences close to real practice while avoiding direct intervention on patients, thus contributing to the improvement of learners’ skills. However, existing simulation training lacks opportunities to learn lesion exploration and clinical decision making in clinical situations where the presence of lesions is uncertain in actual human bodies. Additionally, while these learning experiences take the form of active practice, due to the characteristics of phantoms and VR/AR, they tend to only aid in understanding the appearance of lesions. Although learners improve their adaptability to simulation training through repeated practice, there remains doubt as to whether they acquire skills applicable to clinical settings. To address this issue, we introduce a novel playable design: virtual patientization. We enhance ultrasound images taken from healthy persons with different levels of virtual lesions to achieve more and practical training. Our design extends its capabilities by providing opportunities to practice lesion detection and clinical decision making, thereby enhancing diagnostic skills through real human interaction. Subjective evaluation from medical doctors revealed that for virtual patientization, it is essential to represent critical points in the physician’s diagnosis and ensure that no unrealistic events occur, thus clarifying future challenges. We believe that our virtual patientization modality is useful for ultrasound diagnostic education and training and can contribute to improving the quality of healthcare.