Team

4 UX Designers

Role

UX Designer

Time Stamp

August 2022 - December 2022

SURGERY PAL

Project

UX Research, UX Design

ow conducting in-depth user research and building an immersive VR prototype for medical students led to a highly engaging and practical solution for anatomy study and surgical practice?

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Content

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Summary

Surgery Pal is a VR tool designed to help medical students in India gain practical experience in surgeries and anatomy dissections, overcoming the limitations of cadavers and traditional resources. Through user research, we identified key challenges like limited practice time and difficulty with content memorization. We developed a user-centered VR prototype featuring real-time feedback, progress tracking, and gamification elements like leaderboards and daily challenges to keep students engaged. Usability testing further refined the prototype, showcasing the potential of VR in medical education and emphasizing the value of an iterative design process.

Tools And Techniques Used

Description 1

Tools And Techniques Used

Figma for wireframing and prototyping

Draft XR and 3D for XR plugins in Figma for creating immersive VR prototypes

Contextual Inquiry for qualitative research and persona development

Affinity diagramming for analyzing interview data and identifying key patterns

Usability testing with screen recordings to gather feedback and refine the design

Google Meet and Zoom for remote interviews and team collaboration

What I Did?

I was part of a team of four UX designers working collaboratively on the Surgery Pal project. We shared equal responsibility for every aspect of the project, ensuring that all tasks were completed together. My contributions included conducting user interviews, note-taking and synthesizing the data. We collaboratively worked on creating affinity diagrams to uncover key insights and patterns from the interview findings. In addition to the research tasks, I worked closely with the rest of the team on prototyping, ensuring that we created cohesive and effective user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes. Throughout the project, we maintained open communication and iterated on design ideas as a group, ensuring that every part of the process was a collective effort.

Demographics

Medical Students in India aged 18 to 30

roblem

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We identified a clear struggle with traditional learning methods and a strong demand for more hands-on practice opportunities.    

How can we design a VR experience that allows medical students to practice surgeries and anatomy in a risk-free, simulated environment, overcoming these limitations?

Critical Issue: Insufficient practical training can result in lower proficiency and negatively impact patient safety.  

The Potential Solution: A successful VR solution could enhance medical education, improve outcomes, and help address the shortage of cadavers and other resources in medical schools.

Medical students in India face significant challenges in gaining practical experience due to:  

Limited Resources: Scarcity of cadavers and high costs.
Large Class Sizes: Students spend more time observing than practicing.
Lack of Hands-On Practice: Limited opportunities to perform surgeries and dissections.

ontextual Inquiry

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After identifying our approach to the problem at hand, the next stage of our process involves learning more about our target audience—medical students. We conducted eight interviews in total. We analyzed our interview data to create the affinity map

User Painpoints

Lack of Hands-On Practice

Students spend more time observing than performing procedures, limiting their proficiency in surgical skills.

Lack of Hands-On Practice

Students spend more time observing than performing procedures, limiting their proficiency in surgical skills.

Limited Access to Cadavers

The scarcity of cadavers restricts opportunities for practicing dissections and surgeries.

Limited Access to Cadavers

The scarcity of cadavers restricts opportunities for practicing dissections and surgeries.

Time Constraints

Tight academic schedules leave little time for students to focus on hands-on practice, making it difficult to refine their skills.

Time Constraints

Tight academic schedules leave little time for students to focus on hands-on practice, making it difficult to refine their skills.

Fear and Anxiety During Real Dissections

Many students experience unease when performing dissections on cadavers, affecting their learning experience and confidence.

Fear and Anxiety During Real Dissections

Many students experience unease when performing dissections on cadavers, affecting their learning experience and confidence.

Difficulty in Memorizing and Applying Medical Content

The vast amount of material to memorize makes it hard for students to effectively apply their knowledge in practical situations.

Difficulty in Memorizing and Applying Medical Content

The vast amount of material to memorize makes it hard for students to effectively apply their knowledge in practical situations.

Inadequate Real-Time Feedback

Due to large class sizes, students often lack immediate feedback, making it difficult to assess and improve their performance during practice.

Inadequate Real-Time Feedback

Due to large class sizes, students often lack immediate feedback, making it difficult to assess and improve their performance during practice.

View the Affinity Diagram

ersonas

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Based on the top-level trends that we had identified from the affinity diagram, we came up with the following four personas

View the Personas

ow-Fidelity Prototyping

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Focus on Primary Persona's Needs    

Key Insights: Based on our insights, we identified the needs and wants of our primary persona, which directly influenced the app’s design.  
Emphasis: The app was tailored to address these needs, ensuring that it effectively engages and supports the user.

Key Features and Functions of the Application

Main Sections:

Learning Anatomy
Practicing Virtual Surgeries
Quizzes

Feedback and Analytics:  An analytics section provides real-time performance feedback to help users track their progress.

Key Features and Functions of the Application

Main Sections:

Learning Anatomy
Practicing Virtual Surgeries
Quizzes

Feedback and Analytics:  An analytics section provides real-time performance feedback to help users track their progress.

Gamification for Consistency and Engagement

Engagement Strategies: To keep users motivated and practicing regularly, the app includes:

Streaks
Daily Challenges
Leaderboards

Gamification for Consistency and Engagement

Engagement Strategies: To keep users motivated and practicing regularly, the app includes:

Streaks
Daily Challenges
Leaderboards

We designed a clear information architecture and user flow that guides the user through their surgical practice seamlessly.

Information Architecture

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Information Architecture

User Flow

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User Flow

Performing a Virtual Forearm Bone Surgery:

Scenario: Arya is a postgraduate medical student preparing for her clinicals. She wishes to learn how to perform hand surgery. She learns about the Surgery Pal application, logs in, and does a virtual hand operation with ease and learns how it’s done.

Content

Performing a Virtual Forearm Bone

Surgery: Scenario: Arya is a postgraduate medical student preparing for her clinicals. She wishes to learn how to perform hand surgery. She learns about the Surgery Pal application, logs in, and does a virtual hand operation with ease and learns how it’s done.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

Content

Lo-Fi Wireframes

We designed a VR app prototype that empowers medical students to apply their knowledge and practice their skills in a virtual setting

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We designed a VR app prototype that empowers medical students to apply their knowledge and practice their skills in a virtual setting

View the Lo-Fi Wireframes

igh-Fidelity Prototyping

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We built upon our Low-Fi wireframes, adding more detail. We worked collaboratively to decide the visual design direction and create the UI elements.

Another key aspect we had to collectively figure out is -

How do we create VR prototypes?

Another key aspect we had to collectively figure out is -

How do we create VR prototypes?

After doing a lot of research and exploring our options we decided to use Figma along with plugins - Draft XR and 3D for XR, to create our final prototype.

A video walkthrough was recorded for the users to understand the prototype more clearly, and finally, usability testing was conducted.

Hi-Fi Wireframes

Content

Lo-Fi Wireframes

1. Personalization and Progress Tracking

The personalized greeting ("Hello Arya!") and avatar provide a sense of ownership and identity in the experience.

The analytics dashboard directly addresses the need for tracking progress with metrics like completed surgeries, average time, and accuracy.
Gamification elements like daily challenges and a leaderboard introduce elements of competition and self-improvement, driving engagement.
The design supports the "visibility of system status" by clearly displaying current achievements and goals.

1. Personalization and Progress Tracking

The personalized greeting ("Hello Arya!") and avatar provide a sense of ownership and identity in the experience.
The analytics dashboard directly addresses the need for tracking progress with metrics like completed surgeries, average time, and accuracy.
Gamification elements like daily challenges and a leaderboard introduce elements of competition and self-improvement, driving engagement.
The design supports the "visibility of system status" by clearly displaying current achievements and goals.

2. Immersion and Realism

The use of 3D graphics to simulate an operating room environment creates an immersive experience that mimics real-life conditions, which can help students learn procedures in a contextually relevant setting.
This solution leverages the principle of simulation fidelity in educational VR, providing a high degree of realism to enhance learning transfer.

2. Immersion and Realism

The use of 3D graphics to simulate an operating room environment creates an immersive experience that mimics real-life conditions, which can help students learn procedures in a contextually relevant setting.
This solution leverages the principle of simulation fidelity in educational VR, providing a high degree of realism to enhance learning transfer.

3. Guidance and Instruction

The step-by-step guidance with visual cues (e.g., the incision lines on the arm) aligns with the principle of "Recognition rather than recall" by minimizing the cognitive load on the user.
Instructions are concise and clear, aiding in the comprehension of the task at hand, which is a part of the minimalist design approach.

3. Guidance and Instruction

The step-by-step guidance with visual cues (e.g., the incision lines on the arm) aligns with the principle of "Recognition rather than recall" by minimizing the cognitive load on the user.
Instructions are concise and clear, aiding in the comprehension of the task at hand, which is a part of the minimalist design approach.

4. Real-time Feedback and Assistance

Real-time feedback is given through progress indicators (such as the percentage completion), which is an example of immediate feedback following the principle of visibility of system status.
The information button ('i') likely offers on-demand assistance, which is a nod to the heuristic of help and documentation.

4. Real-time Feedback and Assistance

Real-time feedback is given through progress indicators (such as the percentage completion), which is an example of immediate feedback following the principle of visibility of system status.
The information button ('i') likely offers on-demand assistance, which is a nod to the heuristic of help and documentation.

5. Success and Feedback

The success screen with "Well Done Arya!" provides positive reinforcement, which is a key component of user motivation.
Detailed feedback on performance is given (time taken and mistakes made), which aligns with the principle of informative feedback from Don Norman's design principles.
Options to redo the surgery or confirm completion offer user control and freedom, adhering to Nielsen's usability heuristics.

5. Success and Feedback

The success screen with "Well Done Arya!" provides positive reinforcement, which is a key component of user motivation.
Detailed feedback on performance is given (time taken and mistakes made), which aligns with the principle of informative feedback from Don Norman's design principles.
Options to redo the surgery or confirm completion offer user control and freedom, adhering to Nielsen's usability heuristics.

View the Hi-Fi Wireframes

Walkthrough Video

Content

Walkthrough Video

ser Evaluation

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Our Process

Conducted usability testing with a screen recording of the app’s user flow.
Focused on the primary scenario of navigating and performing a virtual surgery.
Participants watched the video and then took part in a post-viewing interview to provide feedback and suggestions.

Participant Information

8 medical students from India, including 4 who participated in a previous contextual inquiry.
Participants were pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Our Process

Conducted usability testing with a screen recording of the app’s user flow.
Focused on the primary scenario of navigating and performing a virtual surgery.
Participants watched the video and then took part in a post-viewing interview to provide feedback and suggestions.

Participant Information

8 medical students from India, including 4 who participated in a previous contextual inquiry.
Participants were pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Key Insights from Interviews

General Feedback:

Most participants were excited to use the app for their studies.
Many appreciated the analytics feature on the home page for tracking progress.

General Feedback:

Most participants were excited to use the app for their studies.
Many appreciated the analytics feature on the home page for tracking progress.

Suggested Features:

"Share" feature: Allow users to discuss results with friends.
Leaderboard: Four participants favored it to motivate competitive students.
"Pause" and "Save For Later": Two participants requested these features for practice sessions.

Suggested Features:

"Share" feature: Allow users to discuss results with friends.
Leaderboard: Four participants favored it to motivate competitive students.
"Pause" and "Save For Later": Two participants requested these features for practice sessions.

Suggestions for Improvement:

Some suggested making the surgery experience and graphics more realistic.
Three participants enjoyed the concept of a daily challenge.

Suggestions for Improvement:

Some suggested making the surgery experience and graphics more realistic.
Three participants enjoyed the concept of a daily challenge.

earnings

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The Surgery Pal project provided a unique opportunity for our team to delve into the realm of VR application development, an area unfamiliar to us.

Contextual inquiry and affinity diagram phases deepened our understanding of medical students' challenges, emphasizing the need for practical experience. Developing personas and refining prototypes through usability testing showcased our commitment to user feedback.
The incorporation of gamification elements demonstrated an innovative approach, highlighting the project's emphasis on user engagement.
Overall, the experience reinforced the importance of user-centric design, iterative processes, and the potential of VR applications in advancing medical education.

The Surgery Pal project provided a unique opportunity for our team to delve into the realm of VR application development, an area unfamiliar to us.

Contextual inquiry and affinity diagram phases deepened our understanding of medical students' challenges, emphasizing the need for practical experience. Developing personas and refining prototypes through usability testing showcased our commitment to user feedback.
The incorporation of gamification elements demonstrated an innovative approach, highlighting the project's emphasis on user engagement.
Overall, the experience reinforced the importance of user-centric design, iterative processes, and the potential of VR applications in advancing medical education.