Susan Wojcicki quoted that “from phones to cars to medicine, technology touches every part of our lives. If you can create technology, you can change the world.”
This has proven to be true as many aspects of our existence including teaching and learning have been made easier with the existence of one technology or the other.
Medicine has seen its own technological advancement and with a worldwide shortage of dead bodies for medical use, it has pressured scientists to come up with new ways to train future doctors without using a real Cadaver and this has led to the creation of a virtual Anatomage.
The Anatomage table is a significant component of the teaching and learning of human anatomy at the Accra College of Medicine.
With the aim of churning out highly qualified medical doctors with the requisite knowledge about the human body, students are able to study the structure and anatomical organization of the various parts of the body using the Anatomage.
Speaking to the Ag. Head of the Laboratory at Accra College of Medicine, Joseph Akyeampong, he said that the use of the Anatomage together with the dry Cadaver that has been prosected has made the teaching and learning process easier, faster, more interactive and efficient.
To him, this allows students to better understand and properly visualize the information they gather from lectures while giving them opportunity to further explore the human body. One unique benefit is the ability retrace, undo and redo incisions. This serves to reinforce practical knowledge in the subject area.
Recounting his experience as a student, he explained that there was no going back from wrong incisions already made and working with traditional cadavers was quite tedious and time consuming.
The students who have had the chance to use this technology have appreciated its usefulness and thanked the school for its availability. According to them, the Anatomage Table allows them to practice virtual hands on dissection and they are allowed to “play” with it to explore and learn more than what is taught in the classroom.
A wrong cut or dissection in the operating room surgical incision could be fatal thus the need for thorough examination and understanding of the human anatomy before any step is taken at any time.
Researchers from Mortpellier Medical University have reported that a virtual dissection done on a cadaver before going into the operating room will provide doctors a better understanding and insight on what to expect and do at any given time.
Biochemistry, Chemistry and Physiology among other disciplines are not left out. Many laboratory sessions for these basic and applied sciences at the college are virtual labs that are hosted by renowned higher learning institutions and experts in these disciplines.
At Accra College of Medicine, technology is a major part of the learning experience and as a result the college is constantly making efforts to keep up with emerging technological trends which gives the students access quality and world-class medical training.
Cadavers have been in short supply worldwide in recent years. The number of medical students is increasing as the number of programs that need cadavers.
Doctors also need cadavers to do further studies and research. The easiest and most current option is a Virtual Cadaver which allows all to learn and explore more and also provides a vivid pictorial image of the anatomy to the mind’s eye.
This new discovery and better way of learning anatomy in medicine is what students aspiring to be professional medical doctors with a heart power at the Accra College of Medicine are privileged to have.