For Dr. Rima Khankan, the most deeply rewarding part of teaching at Marshall B. Ketchum University, where the many levels of support from the President on downward contribute to an academic atmosphere that to her feels more like a home, is when she sees the eyes of her students light up with understanding and engagement. As the principal faculty member in charge of MBKU’s Anatomage virtual cadaver technology, she has many such opportunities with students from all three of MBKU’s disciplines.
The Anatomage virtual cadaver table is similar to an iPad-like tablet, except it is as big as a table and holds within its software four human cadavers, represented to the millimeter in accurate 3-D, is life-sized and fully interactive. Users can explore the anatomy of a real human being without the drawbacks typically associated with studying traditional cadavers. “With a real cadaver,” explains Dr. Khankan, “you need a special lab with chemicals and preservatives and you have to follow special regulations and devote many resources to its upkeep. With the table, there is none of that. The cadavers don’t age and students can dissect, make a mistake but cut again without losing the cadaver. When I was a student, I had textbook images of anatomy presented in 2-D, and I had to try to visualize organs in 3-D. The textbook would show only one part of the system, isolated and unrelated to the rest of the body. With the Anatomage table, I can select a system and see every part of it and how it connects to other systems, all in three dimensions.”
These advantages barely scrape the surface of the capabilities of the tables, however. In addition to the traditional dissection (accomplished by pulling a finger across the table’s glass surface; no scalpel necessary), students can examine any one of more than 100 cases from the extensive case library loaded into the software that depict real interactive images of cancers, bone fractures and before/after surgeries. They can do this under the knowledgeable eye of Dr. Khankan, but they also can work in groups on their own to explore these pathologies, which could never happen with a traditional cadaver. The software even has quizzes built into it, so students can test their knowledge of the systems they’re learning.
"The Anatomage tables are a great example of Marshall B. Ketchum University’s adoption of innovative teaching methods and cutting-edge technology," concludes Dr. Khankan.
The full Spring 2019 issue is available online. Read Now