Immersive Extended Reality use in Medical Education with Implications for Remote and Space Medicine Training

Objective: Medical education continually adapts and evolves as evidence-based practice expands our knowledge. Ease of access and reduced cost of novel technology has revolutionized delivery of medical education. Immersive extended reality (iXR) technology may play an invaluable role in improving delivery and quality of medical education in rural and extra-planetary settings. Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted for using MeSH terms specific to iXR technology related to medical education. Relevant manuscripts were accessed from database searches and filtered based on pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Extraction of data and thematic qualitative analysis was conducted in relation to relevance to remote medical training with an emphasis on potential for deep-space exploration class missions. Results: From a total of 4005 search results, 35 final papers met inclusion criteria for this study. Current applications of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technology in medical education were explored, and themes from each modality of iXR technology were defined. Conclusions: Themes determined from the results were applied to a discussion regarding the application of iXR technology in two distinct areas: remote and rural medical training and space medicine. Relative strengths and weaknesses of each modality of iXR were explored and applied to the unique factors impacting medical education delivery in these two domains.