Development and evaluation of the effectiveness of educational material for radiological protection that uses augmented reality and virtual reality to visualise the behaviour of scattered radiation

J Radiol Prot. 2022 Jan 17;42(1). doi: 10.1088/1361-6498/ac3e0a.

Abstract

Understanding the behaviour of scattered radiation is important for learning appropriate radiation protection methods, but many existing visualisation systems for radiation require special devices, making it difficult to use them in education. The purpose of this study was to develop teaching material for radiation protection that can help visualise the scattered radiation with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on a web browser, develop a method for using it in education and examine its effectiveness. The distribution of radiation during radiography was calculated using Monte Carlo simulation, and teaching material was created. The material was used in a class for department of radiological technology students and its influence on motivation was evaluated using a questionnaire based on the evaluation model for teaching materials. In addition, text mining was used to evaluate impressions objectively. Educational material was developed that can be used in AR and VR for studying the behaviour of scattered radiation. The results of the questionnaire showed that the average value of each item was more than four on a five-point scale, indicating that the teaching material attracted the interest of users. Through text mining, it could be concluded that there was improved understanding of, and confidence in, radiation protection.

Keywords: Monte-Carlo simulation; augmented reality; education in radiation protection; scattered radiation; virtual reality.

MeSH terms

  • Augmented Reality*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Humans
  • Radiation Protection*
  • Teaching Materials
  • Virtual Reality*