Development of Learning Support System on Auscultation for Nurse Using Virtual Reality

Auscultation is carried out as a daily basic work of a nurse, however, it is difficult to differentiate between normal sound and abnormal sound. Therefore, learning of auscultation is an important subject for a student in a nursing department. A patient simulator is usually used for the learning of auscultation. Although the simulator can provide real sound at its accurate position, it is very expensive and too large to be moved. In this research, a virtual patient simulator that solves the problems of a conventional patient simulator is proposed. The virtual patient simulator creates a patient model in a virtual environment. The simulator can also present a sense of touch with the patient model using a haptic device. A user can learn an accurate position for auscultation, corresponding sound of the position and differentiation between normal sound and abnormal sound. As a result of subjective evaluation of the simulator by students and staffs in a nursing department, it is suggested that the simulator is effective for a novice.