Andrew Deane, School of Medicine
Principal Investigator: Andrew Deane, associate professor of anatomy, cell biology, physiology, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine
Project Title: Making Up for Lost Time: High-resolution 3D Surface Models in Gross Anatomy
Funding Level: $4,730
Abstract: Although COVID-19 teaching restrictions impact all aspects of medical curricula, gross anatomy has been disproportionately affected. To decrease in-person contact many medical schools have reduced or eliminated gross dissection, exacerbating pre-existing trends towards reduced lab contact hours. The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), believing dissection is a critical and foundational subject, retained cadaveric dissection in 2020 but in a reduced capacity (i.e., fewer labs, fewer students/lab). To address this shortfall 24 pre-lab demonstration videos were made available to the 2020 cohort. Despite high levels of student engagement, favourable impressions and a positive correlation between student performance (exam outcomes) and viewership data, students struggled with virtual peer-teaching small-group activities in the absence of group access to their cadavers. In this proposal we describe how we will address this shortcoming in 2021 by creating a supplemental library of comprehensive and customizable high-resolution digital 3D surface models of hard and soft tissue cadaveric materials to supplement existing pre-lab videos. In the absence of in-person peer teaching with cadavers 3D models will provide detailed visual aids to help frame student’s virtual discussions of anatomical relationships and to promote increased 3D spatial orientation and content retention. All 3D models will be customizable and capable of 360 rotation in any direction. Models will be similarly implemented in additional gross anatomy courses serving diverse student populations. Formal assessment of student outcomes in multiple courses serving different student populations will establish the utility of 3D models as an alternative to cadaver access when lab time is reduced.
