The Impact of Virtual Reality in Medical Ionizing Radiation Sciences Education: A Systematic Review of the International Literature

Studies in medical ionizing radiation sciences apply to a wide range of medical and allied health professions. The students in those sciences learn the basic principles and effects of ionizing radiation on patients for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, as well as the theoretical background in biomedical equipment operation. It is fundamental for those students to receive proper hands-on training, to successfully connect the theory with practice. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed education to a new normal, establishing the use of emerging technologies to facilitate distance learning and virtual interaction. In this paper, we reviewed the literature for applications of virtual reality (VR) learning environments in the education of medical ionizing radiation sciences. We performed a literature search in the databases PubMed and Epistemonikos for the last decade (2012-2022), using combinations of keywords. We also performed a manual search in ResearchGate electronic repository. We identified 15 studies investigating the impact of the application of VR learning environments on students in medicine and allied health professions relevant to medical ionizing radiation sciences. The application of VR can lead to the improvement of learning outcomes, the development of clinical and soft skills, facilitate the comprehension of theoretical concepts through visualization and increase the level of confidence of students before clinical practice. In addition, it is an attractive method of training, offering the benefits of repetition and practice in a safe environment for the students. None of the studies refer that VR learning environments have replaced the clinical placements of the students, which are considered a critical component of their clinical practice. Concluding, there is only a little, regional, and relatively recent quantitative evidence, demonstrating the successful incorporation of VR learning environments in curricula of medical ionizing radiation sciences. From our perspective, VR can become a valuable pedagogical tool for those curricula, helping the connection of theory with clinical practice and enhancing the confidence of students.