Evaluation of a novel augmented reality educational tool and its effects on patient experience: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Patient education is an essential element of the treatment pathway. Augmented reality (AR), with disease simulations and three-dimensional visuals, offers a developing approach to patient education. We aim to determine whether this tool can increase patient understanding of their disease and post-visit satisfaction in comparison to current standard of care (SOC) educational practices in a randomized control study. Methods: Our single-site study consisted of 100 patients with initial diagnoses of kidney masses or stones randomly enrolled in the AR or SOC arm. In the AR arm, a physician used AR software on a tablet to educate the patient. SOC patients were educated through traditional discussion, imaging, and hand-drawn illustrations. Participants completed pre- and post-physician encounter surveys adapted from the Press Ganey Results: There was no significant difference in participant education level ( Conclusions: While AR did not significantly increase self-reported patient understanding of their disease compared to SOC, this study suggests AR as a potential avenue to increase patient satisfaction with educational tools used during consultations.