# Mixed Reality System for STEM Education and the promotion of health-related careers

> **NIH NIH R44** · INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS, INC. · 2020 · $698,435

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Proposed is a system to combine and leverage the advantages of existing medical props with interactive media
to provide engaging and cooperative group STEM learning experiences. Significance: The PowerPoint lecture
style has become the standard method for teaching groups of students. Unfortunately, this style does not
emphasize student-instructor or student-student instruction, and in fact seems to have made students even
less engaged than before. Broad agreement exists in the field of science education that more engaging
pedagogies benefit students in introductory classes. A variety of teaching aids, for example plastic medical
props and mannequins are available to support more engaging learning exercises. Despite their substantial
benefits, physical props are fundamentally limited as they are primarily static (e.g. fixed coloration, disease
depiction), their internal structures (with limited exceptions) often bear little resemblance to actual human
anatomy, and they are passive objects. Hypothesis: A system which can provide more engaging interaction
with physical props will be able to improve student retention and increase interest in STEM related subjects.
Specific Aims: To prove the feasibility of the proposed system in Phase I IDL will 1) Determine stakeholder
requirements through round table discussions; 2) Create prototype system hardware & software to augment
learning with physical props; and 3) Validate the prototype system through a pilot study. The overall Phase I
effort will demonstrate the ability of the proposed system to augment learning with physical props. In the Phase
II effort IDL will ready the system for commercialization by 1) Developing production-quality software,
hardware, and user interfaces; 2) Developing a set of comprehensive curricula for the system; and 3)
Validating the system through human subject testing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9997967
- **Project number:** 5R44GM130247-03
- **Recipient organization:** INNOVATIVE DESIGN LABS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Adam Becker
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $698,435
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9997967

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9997967, Mixed Reality System for STEM Education and the promotion of health-related careers (5R44GM130247-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9997967. Licensed CC0.

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