engleski

Teaching pathology using interactive image databank

TEACHING PATHOLOGY USING INTERACTIVE IMAGE DATABANK Running head: Teaching pathology using image databank Seiwerth Sven, Jukić Stanko, Danilović Žarko, Manojlović Spomenka, Cviko Aida, *Banach Lech, #Borić B. Institute of Pathology Medical Faculty Zagreb, Croatia ; *UNITRA, Umtata, South Africa ; #County Hospital Dubrovnik, Croatia. Address correspondence � Sven Seiwerth, MD PhD, Institute of Pathology, Medical Faculty University of Zagreb, Šalata 10, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Key words � pathology teaching, images, database, interactive learning, histopathology, remote learnin Teaching pathology on all educational levels (graduate, postgraduate, doctoral, postdoctoral, or continuos education) includes a lot of visual data, largest part of which are morphological changes (macroscopical, microscopical or submicroscopical) of organic structures. That is why pathology teaching heavily relies upon different tools for presenting this material. Classically we use slides and transparencies, but computer assisted teaching opens a large field of new opportunities (1, 2). We elaborated a project of introducing computer assisted teaching into pathology training in the Institute of Pathology Zagreb. For this purpose the image database ISSA (VAMS, Zagreb, Croatia) was adapted to a teaching tool. Originally ISSA is a database designed to store patient data and images generated by different sources (TV camera mounted on a microscope or macrostand, CT, NMR). By slight modifications ISSA was turned into a very useful and easy to operate teaching tool. The development was planed in three teaching levels and three organisational phases. Assumed teaching levels are graduate, postgraduate and continuous education. Phase one includes storage of representative images from slides used in the histopathology course into the ISSA database. Images are paralleled by a short, descriptive text. Text and images are also printed as a compendium. The database is made accessible to all students in the multimedia classroom of the Medical faculty and on one computer in the Institute of pathology. It allows interactive browsing trough diagnoses and images and has an interactive self-assessment appendix. The approach to teaching by using a database enables us to store a much larger number of images helpful in understanding the given subject than if only a printed medium is being used. In addition the possibility of interactive learning and self assessment is supposed to facilitate the learning process. This phase of our project is concluded and the first benefit assessment is planed for the Summer examination period 1998. We can conclude that the ISSA database greatly facilitates and improves all levels of pathology teaching and together with an co-operative telepathology program opens broad perspectives in better quality education even in remote areas.

pathology teaching; images; database; interactive learning; histopathology; remote learnin

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