The inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is a dental anesthetic injection that is critical to the performance of many dental procedures. Dental students typically learn to administer an IANB through videos and practice on silicone molds and, in many dental schools, on other students. This causes significant stress for both the students and their early patients. To reduce discomfort and improve clinical outcomes, we created an anatomically informed virtual reality headset-based educational system for the IANB. It combines a layered 3D anatomical model, dynamic visual guidance for syringe position and orientation, and active force feedback to emulate syringe interaction with tissue. A companion mobile augmented reality application allows students to step through a visualization of the procedure on a phone or tablet. We conducted a user study to determine the advantages of preclinical training with our IANB simulator. We found that in comparison to dental students who were exposed only to traditional supplementary study materials, dental students who used our IANB simulator were more confident administering their first clinical injections, had less need for syringe readjustments, and had greater success in numbing patients.

中文翻译：

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用于牙科神经阻滞教育的 Visuo-Haptic VR 和 AR 指导

下牙槽神经阻滞 (IANB) 是一种牙科麻醉注射剂，对于许多牙科手术的实施至关重要。牙科学生通常通过视频和硅胶模具练习来学习如何管理 IANB，在许多牙科学校，还通过其他学生进行练习。这给学生和他们的早期患者带来了巨大的压力。为了减少不适并改善临床结果，我们为 IANB 创建了一个基于解剖学的虚拟现实耳机教育系统。它结合了分层 3D 解剖模型、注射器位置和方向的动态视觉引导以及模拟注射器与组织相互作用的主动力反馈。配套的移动增强现实应用程序允许学生在手机或平板电脑上逐步完成手术过程的可视化。我们进行了一项用户研究，以确定使用 IANB 模拟器进行临床前培训的优势。我们发现，与仅接触传统补充学习材料的牙科学生相比，使用我们的 IANB 模拟器的牙科学生对首次临床注射更有信心，不需要重新调整注射器，并且在麻醉患者方面取得了更大的成功。