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Building junior podiatrists' confidence with VR Simulation

When the project landed on my lap, I was excited to finally explore how the UX principles on my sleeves can be applied to VR experience. Prior to the development, I gathered enough information to map the actual flow of the clinical consultation to interactions in the simulation. I leveraged my sketching skill to communicate the preliminary idea to the client. It was interesting to discover that while understanding the current flow and the user mental model are crucial, they do not guarantee the usability of the solution without testing with the actual users.

Role

UX Designer

Client

Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Duration

October - December 2023

Main Focus

User Interview

Storyboarding

UI & Interaction Design

Usability Testing

Client Management

Challenge

Junior podiatrists can flawlessly ace in-class assessments. However, many have difficulty identifying the foot conditions during in-clinic training. Moreover, they sometimes freeze at the sight of the different foot conditions.

How might we create a simulation training that helps junior podiatrists make in-clinic decisions?

Results

A guided VR simulation where the player is accompanied by a senior podiatrist and equipped with a clipboard. Throughout the simulation, player is to interact with virtual patients to find out and identify their diabetic foot status.

32 cases

on the 8 virtual patients

504 hours

in reduction of training duration

*$63,000

saved from training podistrists

Uncovering The Struggle of Junior Podiatrists

Creating a meaningful product requires the aim to solve a problem, or create an opportunity. I put on my inquisitive hat and get the interview going.

🎲

Face conditions on a chance-basis

🎲

Face conditions on a chance-basis

Podiatrists cannot predict the foot conditions they would confront in their practice. Consequently, some may lack expertise in managing particular conditions, irrespective of their work experience.

Thus, there is a need to increase accessibility to learn foot conditions they have not faced before.

Podiatrists cannot predict the foot conditions they would confront in their practice. Consequently, some may lack expertise in managing particular conditions, irrespective of their work experience.

Thus, there is a need to increase accessibility to learn foot conditions they have not faced before.

😨

Freeze at the sight of various foot conditions

😨

Freeze at the sight of various foot conditions

Fear often stems from the unfamiliar. While trainees may study foot conditions through textbooks and papers, encountering them in real-life scenarios presents a completely different challenge.

To bridge this gap, it is essential to provide realistic, immersive exposure to various foot conditions.

Fear often stems from the unfamiliar. While trainees may study foot conditions through textbooks and papers, encountering them in real-life scenarios presents a completely different challenge.

To bridge this gap, it is essential to provide realistic, immersive exposure to various foot conditions.

😖

Unsure of what goes during the foot screening

😖

Unsure of what goes during the foot screening

As they are not familiar with the conditions, they may lose their confidence. Thus, they are not able to think clearly on what to do during the foot screening.

Going Deeper by Segmenting the Standard Operating Procedure to Understand Assessment Points

Based on interviews and resources given, I crafted a user flow of how a typical clinic session unfolds. Here, we can see how each segment - Assessment, Foot Risk Classification, and Education - has a unique purpose and requires strong medical knowledge to carry out.

Mapping Learning Objectives to VR Interactions to Establish Interaction Patterns

After understanding each segment, it is imperative to identify the different decision making points and the relevant learning objectives that shape the solutions. This presents one of the biggest challenges in designing an effective VR simulation.

During clinical sessions, junior podiatrists must learn where to conduct the pedal pulse and monofilament tests. Additionally, they need to understand the appropriate amount of pressure required for the monofilament to buckle.

Locations-Identification Learning

Locations-Identification Learning

Junior podiatrists must develop the ability to identify various foot conditions by assessing the appearance of the foot and reviewing the patient’s medical history.

Condition-Identification Learning

Condition-Identification Learning

To better illustrate the various interaction concepts and how the different learning outcomes are manifested on the VR interactions, I created a low fidelity sketch.

Design Freatures that Assist the Experience

Multi-sensory feedback to increase intuitiveness

One drawback of using VR as a platform for simulation is the lack of tactile feedback, as users interact with controllers in the air rather than with physical objects that provide opposing forces.

To address this, multi-sensory feedback is implemented to signal task completion. For example, during a task such as monofilament testing, the controller vibrates (tactile feedback), the corresponding area lights up in green (visual feedback), and a senior podiatrist provides verbal guidance if the player selects an incorrect area (audio feedback).

Immediate review of their selection to improve the learning retention

Rather than providing a single, extensive report at the end of the session, I designed the experience to include immediate feedback at every assessment point. This approach allows users to correct misunderstandings in real-time, leading to improved information retention and a more effective learning experience.

Simple guides at every junctures of the interaction

From toggling the visibility of the case file at the start of the simulation to interpreting the meaning of each selection colour, I integrated visual guides to help users understand how to operate the controllers. This is especially critical for users who are new to VR devices.

To prevent users from feeling overwhelmed, I placed additional guides strategically at the exact moments they are about to perform an interaction. This approach, known as progressive disclosure, ensures that guidance is delivered contextually and only when needed.

"When I was still an intern, I would be nervous when facing real patients, afraid that I would make wrong judgments. The cases I see in virtual reality are very real, and it is also a complete medical consultation process. If I feel that I need more practice, I can repeat it over and over again."

Li Minting

Sharing Testing Insights with the Design Community

Besides the design decisions elaborated above, there were many other insights that were gathered during the project, this includes the learning on how to place elements for user comfort and for user’s gaze flow. As an active member of the design community, I had the opportunity to share these additional insights during one of DesignSG’s meet-ups.