The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has gained international recognition for its impactful contributions to immersive digital health education. Prof Lik-Hang LEE, Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and his research team have received the “Honourable Mention - Best Paper Award” at the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR) 2025 for their pioneering work in integrating virtual reality into biomedical learning.
The research titled “MetaRoundWorm: A Virtual Reality Escape Room Game for Learning the Lifecycle and Immune Response to Parasitic Infections”, led by Prof LEE, conducted with Ms Xuanru CHENG, and Ms Xian WANG, PhD students at Prof LEE’s Research Group in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and coordinated with Dr TAI Chi-lok, Associate Division Head of the Division of Business and Hospitality Management at the College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) of PolyU, has been recognised for its innovative application of Virtual Reality (VR) in complex biomedical education.
MetaRoundWorm is an immersive VR escape room that makes abstract public health topics more approachable by simulating the lifecycle of Ascaris lumbricoides and immune responses within anatomically accurate virtual environments. In a controlled study, it outperformed a strong baseline of interactive slides in immediate learning outcomes, engagement, and emotional response, while maintaining knowledge retention. The research findings indicate that VR gamification holds promise as an effective pedagogical tool for communicating complex biomedical concepts and advancing digital health education.
Prof LEE said, “We are deeply honoured by this recognition. It is a meaningful affirmation of the PolyU research team’s dedication and passion to advance immersive learning. With MetaRoundWorm, we used a controlled study to test a simple idea: gamified immersive tasks should lead to visible, measurable gains in learning and better emotional experience. We will continue to explore the impact and the broader impact and potential of immersive, game-based learning across diverse fields.”
Building on the results, which show that VR can make complex public health knowledge more accessible and classroom-ready, the research team has developed a multi-user, room-scale version of MetaRoundWorm for deployment in the HIVE (Highly Immersive Visualization Environment) at the Industrial Centre of PolyU. This enhanced version is also integrated into metaverse-based courses, aiming to boost students’ motivation and interest in biomedical learning.
The IEEE ISMAR is the premier conference that gathers the world’s leading researchers from both academia and industry to explore advances in commercial and research activities related to Augmented Reality (AR), MR, and VR. This year, it was held at Daejeon, South Korea.
