%0 Journal Article %A Baratz, G. %A Sridharan, P.S. %A Yong, V. %A Tatsuoka, C. %A Griswold, M.A. %A Wish-Baratz, S. %T Comparing learning retention in medical students using mixed-reality to supplement dissection: a preliminary study %J Int J Med Educ %D 2022 %P 107-114 %V 13 %P 107-114 %R 10.5116/ijme.6250.0af8 %U http://www.ijme.net/archive/13/mixed-reality-as-a-supplement-to-cadaveric-dissection/ %G eng %7 April 29, 2022 %K mixed-reality %K medical education %K anatomy education %K knowledge retention %K %X Objectives: To evaluate student impressions of learning anatomy with mixed-reality and compare long-term information retention of female breast anatomy between students who learned with a mixed-reality supplement and their classmates who dissected cadavers. Methods: In Part 1, 38 first-year medical student volunteers, randomly divided into two groups, completed a mixed-reality module and cadaveric dissection on the female breast in a counterbalanced design. Participants also completed post-quizzes and surveys. Part 2 was a non-randomized controlled trial, 8-months after completing Part 1 and 6-months after a final exam on this content. The performance of twenty-two Part 1 participants and 129 of their classmates, who only dissected, was compared on a delayed post-quiz. Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Mann-Whitney U test, and 95% confidence intervals were used to analyze the data. Results: In Part 1, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test determined that participants expressed significantly more positive responses to mixed-reality and found mixed-reality easier for learning and teamwork. In Part 2, the Mann-Whitney U test found mixed-reality participants scored significantly higher on a delayed-post quiz than their classmates who only dissected (U = 928, p < .009). Conclusions:   This study suggests that medical students may prefer mixed-reality and that it may be an effective modality for learning breast anatomy while facilitating teamwork. Results also suggest that supplementing cadaveric dissection with mixed-reality may improve long-term retention for at least one anatomical topic. It is recommended that similar studies evaluate a larger sample and additional anatomical regions to determine the generalizability of these findings.