Digital Anatomy: Opportunities and Challenges for Medical Sciences (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe ◽  
Bruce Thompson ◽  
Junhua Xiao

UNSTRUCTURED Anatomy has been the cornerstone of medical education for centuries. However, given advances in the Internet of Things, this landscape has been augmented in the past decade, shifting towards a greater focus on adopting digital technologies. Indeed, digital Anatomy is emerging as a new discipline and represents an opportunity to embrace advances in digital health technologies and apply them to the domain of modern medical sciences. This is not only a result of a multidisciplinary exercise but an active response to the change of medical education landscape and the rapid development of medical technology. Notably, the use of augmented and virtual reality as well as mobile and platforms and 3D printing in modern anatomy has dramatically increased in the last 5 years. It has not only revolutionized undergraduate anatomy education but is shifting the paradigm of pre- and vocational training for medical professionals, advancing healthcare. This review outlines the emerging area of digital anatomy and summarises recent practice-changing studies in medical science education and research. Importantly, we present a SWOT analysis of the opportunities and challenges for incorporating digital anatomy, discussing both the strength and weakness and the underlying threats and opportunities for educators, researchers, and the new generation of health professionals. In so doing this review will serve to identify an important role for digital anatomy to play in both the learning and teaching of medicine and health sciences as well as its practice, prompting new questions for future investigations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 1619-1632
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Pieklarz ◽  
Michał Tylman ◽  
Zofia Modrzejewska

The currently observed development of medical science results from the constant search for innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life of patients. Particular attention is focused on the design of a new generation of materials with a high degree of biocompatibility and tolerance towards the immune system. In addition, apart from biotolerance, it is important to ensure appropriate mechanical and technological properties of materials intended for intra-body applications. Knowledge of the above parameters becomes the basis for considerations related to the possibilities of choosing the appropriate polymer materials. The researchers' interest, as evidenced by the number of available publications, is attracted by nanobiocomposites based on chitosan and carbon nanotubes, which, due to their properties, enable integration with the tissues of the human body. Nanosystems can be used in many areas of medicine. They constitute an excellent base for use as dressing materials, as they exhibit antimicrobial properties. In addition, they can be carriers of drugs and biological macromolecules and can be used in gene therapy, tissue engineering, and construction of biosensors. For this reason, potential application areas of chitosan-carbon nanotube nanocomposites in medical sciences are presented in this publication, considering the characteristics of the system components.


Author(s):  
Bertalan Meskó

UNSTRUCTURED Physicians have been performing the art of medicine for hundreds of years, and since the ancient era, patients have turned to physicians for help, advice, and cures. When the fathers of medicine started writing down their experience, knowledge, and observations, treating medical conditions became a structured process, with textbooks and professors sharing their methods over generations. After evidence-based medicine was established as the new form of medical science, the art and science of medicine had to be connected. As a result, by the end of the 20th century, health care had become highly dependent on technology. From electronic medical records, telemedicine, three-dimensional printing, algorithms, and sensors, technology has started to influence medical decisions and the lives of patients. While digital health technologies might be considered a threat to the art of medicine, I argue that advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will initiate the real era of the art of medicine. Through the use of reinforcement learning, artificial intelligence could become the stethoscope of the 21st century. If we embrace these tools, the real art of medicine will begin now with the era of artificial intelligence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 545-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan E.L. Brown ◽  
Angelique N. Dueñas

AbstractA research paradigm, or set of common beliefs about research, should be a key facet of any research project. However, despite its importance, there is a paucity of general understanding in the medical sciences education community regarding what a research paradigm consists of and how to best construct one. With the move within medical sciences education towards greater methodological rigor, it is now more important than ever for all educators to understand simply how to better approach their research via paradigms. In this monograph, a simplified approach to selecting an appropriate research paradigm is outlined. Suggestions are based on broad literature, medical education sources, and the author’s own experiences in solidifying and communicating their research paradigms. By assisting in detailing the philosophical underpinnings of individuals research approaches, this guide aims to help all researchers improve the rigor of their projects and improve upon overall understanding in research communication.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Machleid ◽  
Robert Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Doreen Johann ◽  
Justinas Balčiūnas ◽  
Beatriz Atienza-Carbonell ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Digital health technologies hold promise to enhance patient-related outcomes, to support health care staff by reducing their workload, and to improve the coordination of care. As key users of digital health technologies, health care workers are crucial to enable a meaningful digital transformation of health care. Digital health literacy and digital skills should become prerequisite competencies for health professionals to facilitate the implementation and leverage the potential of digital technologies to improve health. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess European medical students’ perceived knowledge and opinions toward digital health, the status of digital health implementation in medical education, and the students’ most pressing needs. METHODS The explanatory design of our mixed methods study was based on an online, anonymous, self-administered survey targeted toward European medical students. A linear regression analysis was used to identify the influence of the year of medical studies on the responses. Additional analysis was performed by grouping the responses by the self-evaluated frequency of eHealth technology use. Written responses to four qualitative questions in the survey were analyzed using an inductive approach. RESULTS The survey received a total of 451 responses from 39 European countries, and there were respondents for every year of medical studies. The majority of respondents saw advantages in the use of digital health. While 40.6% (183/451) felt prepared to work in a digitized health care system, more than half (240/451, 53.2%) evaluated their eHealth skills as poor or very poor. Medical students considered lack of education to be the reason for this, with 84.9% (383/451) agreeing or strongly agreeing that more digital health education should be implemented in the medical curriculum. Students demanded introductory and specific eHealth courses covering data management, ethical aspects, legal frameworks, research and entrepreneurial opportunities, role in public health and health systems, communication skills, and practical training. The emphasis lay on tailoring learning to future job requirements and interprofessional education. CONCLUSIONS This study shows a lack of digital health-related formats in medical education and a perceived lack of digital health literacy among European medical students. Our findings indicate a gap between the willingness of medical students to take an active role by becoming key players in the digital transformation of health care and the education that they receive through their faculties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maksut Senbekov ◽  
Timur Saliev ◽  
Zhanar Bukeyeva ◽  
Aigul Almabayeva ◽  
Marina Zhanaliyeva ◽  
...  

Background. The implementation of medical digital technologies can provide better accessibility and flexibility of healthcare for the public. It encompasses the availability of open information on the health, treatment, complications, and recent progress on biomedical research. At present, even in low-income countries, diagnostic and medical services are becoming more accessible and available. However, many issues related to digital health technologies remain unmet, including the reliability, safety, testing, and ethical aspects. Purpose. The aim of the review is to discuss and analyze the recent progress on the application of big data, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, block-chain platforms, smart devices in healthcare, and medical education. Basic Design. The publication search was carried out using Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Sciences, Medline, Wiley Online Library, and CrossRef databases. The review highlights the applications of artificial intelligence, “big data,” telemedicine and block-chain technologies, and smart devices (internet of things) for solving the real problems in healthcare and medical education. Major Findings. We identified 252 papers related to the digital health area. However, the number of papers discussed in the review was limited to 152 due to the exclusion criteria. The literature search demonstrated that digital health technologies became highly sought due to recent pandemics, including COVID-19. The disastrous dissemination of COVID-19 through all continents triggered the need for fast and effective solutions to localize, manage, and treat the viral infection. In this regard, the use of telemedicine and other e-health technologies might help to lessen the pressure on healthcare systems. Summary. Digital platforms can help optimize diagnosis, consulting, and treatment of patients. However, due to the lack of official regulations and recommendations, the stakeholders, including private and governmental organizations, are facing the problem with adequate validation and approbation of novel digital health technologies. In this regard, proper scientific research is required before a digital product is deployed for the healthcare sector.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis J Cohoon ◽  
Sanjeev P Bhavnani

The rapid development of digital health devices has enabled patients to engage in their care to an unprecedented degree and holds the possibility of significantly improving the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of many medical conditions. Combined with the emergence of artificial intelligence algorithms, biometric datasets produced from these digital health devices present new opportunities to create precision-based, personalized approaches for healthcare delivery. For effective implementation of such innovations to patient care, clinicians will require an understanding of the types of datasets produced from digital health technologies; the types of analytic methods including feature selection, convolution neural networking, and deep learning that can be used to analyze digital data; and how the interpretation of these findings are best translated to patient care. In this perspective, we aim to provide the groundwork for clinicians to be able to apply artificial intelligence to this transformation of healthcare.


10.2196/16295 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. e16295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertalan Meskó

Physicians have been performing the art of medicine for hundreds of years, and since the ancient era, patients have turned to physicians for help, advice, and cures. When the fathers of medicine started writing down their experience, knowledge, and observations, treating medical conditions became a structured process, with textbooks and professors sharing their methods over generations. After evidence-based medicine was established as the new form of medical science, the art and science of medicine had to be connected. As a result, by the end of the 20th century, health care had become highly dependent on technology. From electronic medical records, telemedicine, three-dimensional printing, algorithms, and sensors, technology has started to influence medical decisions and the lives of patients. While digital health technologies might be considered a threat to the art of medicine, I argue that advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will initiate the real era of the art of medicine. Through the use of reinforcement learning, artificial intelligence could become the stethoscope of the 21st century. If we embrace these tools, the real art of medicine will begin now with the era of artificial intelligence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainaz Sourati ◽  
Somayeh Akbari Farmad ◽  
AmirMohammad AziziKolachahi

Background: Analysis and review of dissertations over a period of time is one of the methods of viewing documents so that by formulating newer topics, a platform will develop for scientific advancement in the fields related to various academic majors. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review master's dissertations of medical education graduates in the virtual school of medical education and management of shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science in the years 2011 to 2016. Methods: In this study, 144 master's dissertations of medical education students graduated in 2011 - 2016 from the virtual school of medical education and management of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science were evaluated. Using an information checklist, relevant data were extracted from the dissertations. The topics of these dissertations were categorized into nine general categories. Also, we also reviewed the journals in which the articles extracted from the dissertations were published. Results: Overall, 74 MSc. dissertations in medical education (2011 to 2016) in the Virtual Faculty of Medical Education and Management of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences were evaluated, and the relevant journals in which the extracted articles were published were also reviewed. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the tendency of students for conducting descriptive studies and using questionnaires was significantly higher, ignoring other research methods. This issue needs to be evaluated, and authorities should determine relevant causes to help planning and to create more diversity in the types of studies in this field. Also, due to the non-allocation of dissertations to some subject areas, such as reviewing and analyzing processes, there is a need to prioritize this topic when selecting future dissertations’ subjects and appropriately direct students to achieve the desired situation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Marzieh Hassanian ◽  
Mohammad Reza Ahanchian ◽  
Hossein Karimi-Moonaghi

SummaryUniversities play a vital role in social progress. Knowledge management (KM) is a kind of process which transforms data into knowledge and knowledge into capital. The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of KM in the field of education of medical sciences in order to help educators and students benefit from the knowledge present in the field of health sciences in a more meaningful and informed way.To achieve the aim of this narrative review, the related Persian and English literature sources were carefully examined; first, the Internet and other data bases were searched for articles containing one or more of the following key words: knowledge, knowledge management, medical science and higher education. Then, the related articles were quickly scanned and useful information was extracted. The selected parts of the text were carefully studied and summarized by two researchers. After gaining a thorough comprehension of the subject, its different dimensions and aspects were described and compared.As a process, the goal of KM in the field of medical sciences is to motivate the creation, sharing, storing and utilization of knowledge. Knowledge creation occurs by continually transforming tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge and vice versa. KM can be implemented in different areas of medical science including clinical practice. Knowledge managements system (KMS) plans are used to provide high quality, high value cost-effective care in medical science. Critical factors that influence the success of the implementation of KM in the field of medical education include culture, leadership and appropriate substructure. KM can be implemented for the development of medical education. KM is a tool which makes education and its practice intellectual, high quality and affordable. Implementation of KM is recommended in the field of medical education for effective health care delivery.


10.2196/19827 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e19827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Machleid ◽  
Robert Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Doreen Johann ◽  
Justinas Balčiūnas ◽  
Beatriz Atienza-Carbonell ◽  
...  

Background Digital health technologies hold promise to enhance patient-related outcomes, to support health care staff by reducing their workload, and to improve the coordination of care. As key users of digital health technologies, health care workers are crucial to enable a meaningful digital transformation of health care. Digital health literacy and digital skills should become prerequisite competencies for health professionals to facilitate the implementation and leverage the potential of digital technologies to improve health. Objective We aimed to assess European medical students’ perceived knowledge and opinions toward digital health, the status of digital health implementation in medical education, and the students’ most pressing needs. Methods The explanatory design of our mixed methods study was based on an online, anonymous, self-administered survey targeted toward European medical students. A linear regression analysis was used to identify the influence of the year of medical studies on the responses. Additional analysis was performed by grouping the responses by the self-evaluated frequency of eHealth technology use. Written responses to four qualitative questions in the survey were analyzed using an inductive approach. Results The survey received a total of 451 responses from 39 European countries, and there were respondents for every year of medical studies. The majority of respondents saw advantages in the use of digital health. While 40.6% (183/451) felt prepared to work in a digitized health care system, more than half (240/451, 53.2%) evaluated their eHealth skills as poor or very poor. Medical students considered lack of education to be the reason for this, with 84.9% (383/451) agreeing or strongly agreeing that more digital health education should be implemented in the medical curriculum. Students demanded introductory and specific eHealth courses covering data management, ethical aspects, legal frameworks, research and entrepreneurial opportunities, role in public health and health systems, communication skills, and practical training. The emphasis lay on tailoring learning to future job requirements and interprofessional education. Conclusions This study shows a lack of digital health-related formats in medical education and a perceived lack of digital health literacy among European medical students. Our findings indicate a gap between the willingness of medical students to take an active role by becoming key players in the digital transformation of health care and the education that they receive through their faculties.


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