BackgroundThe establishment of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) is one of the pillars of the European Space of Higher Education. This way of accounting for the time spent in training has two essential parts, classroom teaching (work with the professor) and distance learning (work without the professor, whether in an individual or collective way). Much has been published on the distance learning part, but less on the classroom teaching section. In this work, the authors investigate didactic strategies and associated aids for distance learning work in a concept based on flipped classroom where transmitting information is carried out with aids that the professor prepares, so that the student works in an independent way before the classes, thus being able to dedicate the classroom teaching time to more complex learning and being able to count on the professor’s help.MethodsThree teaching aids applied to the study of anatomy have been compared: Notes with images, videos, and augmented reality. Four dimensions have been compared: the time spent, the acquired learnings, the metacognitive perception, and the prospects of the use of augmented reality for study.ResultsThe results show the effectiveness, in all aspects, of augmented reality when compared with the rest of aids.The questionnaire assessed the acquired knowledge through a course exam, where 5.60 points were obtained for the notes group, 6.54 for the video group, and 7.19 for the augmented reality group. That is 0.94 more points for the video group compared with the notes and 1.59 more points for the augmented reality group compared with the notes group.ConclusionsThis research demonstrates that, although technology has not been sufficiently developed for education, it is expected that it can be improved in both the autonomous work of the student and the academic training of health science students and that we can teach how to learn. Moreover, one can see how the grades of the students who studied with augmented reality are more grouped and that there is less dispersion in the marks compared with other materials.

Background: Precision in minimal-incision surgery allows surgeons to achieve accurate osteotomies and patients to avoid risks. Herein, a surgical guide for the foot is designed and validated in vitro using resin foot models for hallux abducto valgus surgery. Methods: Three individuals with different experience levels (an undergraduate student, a master's student, and an experienced podiatric physician) performed an Akin osteotomy, a Reverdin osteotomy, and a basal osteotomy of the first metatarsal. Results: The average measurements of each osteotomy and the angle of the basal osteotomy do not reveal significant differences among the three surgeons. A shorter deviation from the planned measurements has been observed in variables corresponding to the Akin osteotomy (the maximum deviation in the measurement of the distance from the proximal medial end of the Akin osteotomy to the first metatarsophalangeal joint interline was 1.67 mm, and the maximum deviation from the proximal lateral end of the Akin osteotomy to the first metatarsophalangeal joint interline was 1.00 mm). As for the Reverdin osteotomies, the maximum deviations in the measurement of the distance from the proximal medial end of the osteotomy to the first metatarsophalangeal joint interline were 3.60 and 3.53 mm in the expert and undergraduate surgeons, respectively. All of the osteotomies were precise among the groups, reducing the learning curve to the maximum. Conclusions: The three-dimensional–printed prototype has been proven effective in guiding surgeons to perform different types of osteotomies. Minimal deviations from the predefined osteotomies were found among the three surgeons.

BACKGROUND: This project shows that the use of augmented reality (AR) technology in the study of podiatric surgery has a positive impact on student outcomes. AR technology can help to enrich the information that provides elements such as X-rays or other diagnostic tools.METHODS : A didactic material with augmented reality was created through the use of markers for the course subjects of Surgical Techniques II, e.g., the topic of hallux valgus surgery, and was compared with the didactic material for 5th metatarsal surgery using PowerPoint and video. The comparison was assessed by a validated questionnaire after providing 2 hours of teaching for each of the subjects to 80 students in a master of surgery program during the 2013-2017 academic years.RESULTS: Analysis of the components of the questionnaire showed that component 1. training, attention and motivation; component 2. freelance work; and component 4. 3D compression were statistically significant at p < 0.05. However, component 3, which compared the technologies used with cadaveric material, was not statistically significant regarding any of its items.CONCLUSION: The current study shows that using augmented reality technology for the study of minimally invasive surgery of the foot increases the attention, the motivation and therefore the learning of the students, in addition to providing three-dimensional images of the surgical movements that are more accurate regarding reality.