Development of multimedia learning modules for teaching human anatomy: application to osteology and functional anatomy.

Computer-assisted learning (CAL) is growing quickly within academic programs. Although the anatomical commercial packages that are available for this learning have attractive advantages, they also have drawbacks: they are frequently not in the local language of the students, they do not perfectly answer the needs of the local academic program, and their cost is frequently more than students can afford. This study describes a relatively inexpensive method to create CAL tutorials, whose content can be fully customized to local academic needs in terms of both program and language. The study describes its use in creating multimedia learning modules (MLMs) about Osteology and joint kinematics. The pedagogical content in these modules was collected from objective experiments to give students the opportunity to access new scientific knowledge during their education. It can be replaced, as desired, by almost any content due to the flexibility of the production method. Each MLM consists of two complementary subelements: a multimedia theoretical lecture and a three-dimensional interactive laboratory. Such MLMs are in use at both the University of Brussels (ULB) and the National University of Rwanda (NUR). The development of this work was part of the VAKHUM project, and the pedagogical validation is currently being performed as part of the MULTIMOD project.

Data representation for joint kinematics simulation of the lower limb within an educational context.

Three-dimensional (3D) visualization is becoming increasingly frequent in both qualitative and quantitative biomechanical studies of anatomical structures involving multiple data sources (e.g. morphological data and kinematics data). For many years, this kind of experiment was limited to the use of bi-dimensional images due to a lack of accurate 3D data. However, recent progress in medical imaging and computer graphics has forged new perspectives. Indeed, new techniques allow the development of an interactive interface for the simulation of human motions combining data from both medical imaging (i.e., morphology) and biomechanical studies (i.e., kinematics). Fields of application include medical education, biomechanical research and clinical research. This paper presents an experimental protocol for the development of anatomically realistic joint simulation within a pedagogical context. Results are shown for the lower limb. Extension to other joints is straightforward. This work is part of the Virtual Animation of the Kinematics of the Human project (VAKHUM) (http://www.ulb.ac.be/project/vakhum).