Medical student evaluation using augmented standardized patients: New development and results

Standardized patients (SPs), individuals who realistically portray patients, are widely used in medical education to teach and assess communication skills, eliciting a history, performing a physical exam, and other important clinical skills. They are typically healthy individuals with few or no abnormal physical findings. One limitation is that each SP can only portray a limited set of physical symptoms. We have developed a functioning prototype that uses sound-based augmented reality (AR) to expand the capabilities of an SP to exhibit physically-manifested abnormalities. The previous research and evaluation of this prototype have been published in medicine meets virtual reality conference in January 2006. Current research has combined a virtual crackle sound with a healthy SP's real breath sound at end of inspiration in real time. The technology used is intended to correlate the inspiration timing of SP's. A learner will hear this simulated sound through an electronic-stethoscope wirelessly.