Seeing Clearly: The Power of AR in Patient Education

Description

Breast reconstruction surgery is a complex procedure that requires 3D visualisation of anatomy.

To help patients better understand and take in information on the procedure that they are about to undergo, MAGES Studio develop an app that taps on the power of augmented reality (AR) technology with visualisation. Delivering learning in micro modules, the transformative product that brings surgical procedures to life in 3D – REBORN – was first conceptualised by the winner of innovPlus 2023 Run 1.

Launched in 2016, innovPlus brings together innovative learning technology providers and industry partners to co-create practical solutions for real-world learning challenges. Winners receive up to $200,000 in prototyping funding to develop scalable solutions that advance continuing education and training practices. Since its inauguration, innovPlus has spurred exciting learning innovations by awarding 50 grants to date.

The challenge

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, affecting one in 13 locally. From 2018 to 2022, more than 13,000 cases were diagnosed.

Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis is overwhelming. For many patients, the flood of complex medical information — especially about the removal and reconstruction of the affected breast — can leave them confused and disorientated.

To aid and create a more optimal situation to help gather informed consent from patients, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) submitted their original challenge statement “Enhancing The Informed Consent Process For Complex Surgical Procedures” through innovPlus, focusing on improving the process of obtaining informed consent from patients who are about to receive complex breast reconstruction procedures via dynamic, interactive 3D visual aids.

KTPH sought to achieve this by aiding doctors in explaining complex surgical options and risks, and helping patients retain the information. The solution should, at the same time, serve as a teaching aid for junior doctors and medical students to learn about the informed consent process (e.g. how and what to communicate to patients), and help to standardise the information shared with patients.

Re-framing the challenge


Ms Vrinda Khanna, Co-founder and Director of MAGES Studio, immediately saw how the company might have a fitting solution to the challenge, “We have been building learning solutions that leverage AR and it was clear that this challenge would benefit from applying AR in a structured way.” However, the emphasis on the processes of obtaining consent stumbled the team initially, till IAL stepped in to help reframe the approach.

“For us, what is fundamental to the solution is to define the problem correctly,” explained Ms Jeanie Cham, Learning Innovator, IAL. “This was a challenge in patient education. The end goal was to help patients fully understand what surgical options they had so that they could make informed decisions. By reframing the challenge in terms of adult learning, the team could then focus on how best to impart complex information clearly and meaningfully.”

This reframing ultimately strengthened the informed consent process by ensuring patients were able to understand and evaluate their options with confidence.

Diving deep into the domain

MAGES Studio thus teamed up with doctors and researchers from KTPH, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, to deep dive into project needs.

“We worked very closely with the medical team to make sure that the medical information is broken down effectively and accurately,” shared Ms Khanna. “We went to NTU to understand how human anatomy works so that we could build realistic AR models.”

“By walking closely with the team, we also could ensure that the 3D models were intuitive for both clinicians and patients. IAL’s questions during review sessions were tremendously helpful in guiding us in learning design.”

Ms Cham elaborated on the unique nature of the project, “Unlike typical adult learning initiatives, where learners often share similar professional backgrounds, this project presented a very diverse audience. The patients came from all walks of life, with no clearly defined demographic. This meant the team had to be especially thoughtful about the intended recipients of the learning. Their solution needed to be effective and relevant for patients facing treatment decisions, regardless of their background or health literacy level.”

Birth of the app: REBORN

The months of hard work resulted in REBORN, a patient-centric app that breaks down the five most common breast reconstruction procedures into interactive, bite-sized learning modules. Patients can absorb the information at their own pace, and AR technology allows them to visualise surgical outcomes with greater clarity.

Now integrated into routine clinical use at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, REBORN has observed that patients report a better understanding of their surgical options.

The team is now exploring opportunities to expand the app’s use to other hospitals across Singapore and even to adapt the app in other medical scenarios where complex surgical procedures are involved.

“We found this to be a very meaningful project,” said Ms Khanna. “We also really appreciate having the innovPlus platform to matchmake solution partners like us with the industry in a very transparent and open format. The funding amoutyicalnt makes a huge difference in the quality of what can be produced and IAL’s expertise adds a lot of value to the solutioning process. In the end, this helps create solutions that have inherent value and relevance to the real world.”