3D anatomage table for the Faculty of Medicine of UzhNU
The Faculty of Medicine of UzhNU has received a unique piece of equipment - a multimedia anatomage table. It is a state-of-the-art high-tech virtual dissection and visualization tool. It has been designed to innovate curricula for medical students to provide them with an immersive experience and lay a solid foundation for their future medical careers. The technology consists of a high-performance system equipped with a large touch screen that allows users to interact with 3D model human body data. According to the Center for Information Technologies at UzhNU, this kind of platform is currently the most powerful computer device at our university. The 3D anatomy and virtual dissection platform is intended for studying a full course of human anatomy in higher educational institutions. The anatomage table helps students to better understand spatial connections between the human body organs and systems. Students can also interact with the real size virtual body body by touching the screen, which stimulates their higher involvement in the educational process.
The anatomage table appeared at UzhNU due to the project prepared by the International Relations Department of the university in 2020, when the Czech Republic decided to support the most proactive higher educational institutions of Ukraine, whose medical faculties were involved in overcoming the Covid 19 pandemic. The vice-rector for academic affairs and research Myroslava Lendel notes: "UzhNU has been updating its scientific, educational and infrastructural equipment for several consecutive years with the help of international grants from the governments of various states, EU programmes, successfully competing with other universities of Ukraine and beyond. This project is the result of the teamwork of my colleagues from the International Relations Department, in particular Oksana Svezhentseva, Lyudmyla Rishko, Hanna Havryliv, Ruslana Voloshyn from the legal department, and the Medical Faculty. Our colleagues from the Information Technologies Center joined the project at a later stage and provided the training on the use of specialized software. I would like to mention that the table cost more than 125,000 euros, and all expenses were borne by the Czech Republic." Oleh Devinyak, the deputy dean of the Faculty of Medicine, adds that the innovative device has been purchased for UzhNU thanks to the Czech charitable organization Czech Development Agency:
"We started implementing this project even before the beginning of a full-scale war. After carrying out all the necessary procedures, the anatomage table has been located in the premises of the Medical Faculty of UzhNU. The Czech Development Agency, which provided us with this valuable equipment, has launched a separate programme to help Ukraine under the leadership of sincere friends of Ukrainians, Michal Gelbic and Jan Pejril. Within the framework of this programme, the idea of providing medical education institutions of Ukraine with modern anatomage tables was implemented. More Ukrainian universities, including Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, have been provided with this kind of equipment from the benefactors. Our faculty mambers together with their colleagues from Ivano-Frankivsk have been trained how to use the anatomage table in the Czech Republic."
The training was held on December 6-7 at the Institute of Postgraduate Education in Prague. Associate professor Oksana Petrychko, assistant of the Department of Human Anatomy and Histology, Yuliia Holosh, and the head of the e-learning department of the CIT Yevheniia Hayovych took part in the training. In particular, during the training, the plan of installation and commissioning of the equipment, the hardware component of the device, the operation of the software, maintenance and other things were mastered. Oksana Petrychko has shared her impressions of the training and working with the anatomage table.: "We can say that the anatomage table is a large computer on which, if we run the necessary programme, we can observe the entire human body. That is, it is a combination of unique hardware and software. This programme includes 4 human bodies (two male and two female) – two bodies are completely healthy, the other two have certain pathologies. With the help of the anatomage table, you can study obstetrics and gynecology, because the programme provides very detailed information about pregnancy, stages of fetal development, embryogenesis. You can also familiarize yourself with the tissue structure, see the microscopic structure of any organ, and you can restore blood supply, both venous and arterial blood flow. Moreover, with the help of this high-tech equipment, anatomy and histology can be taught."
Uzhhorod National University, in particular the staff of the Faculty of Medicine, expresses its sincere gratitude to its partners for their help and the purchase of an innovative anatomage 3D table, which will increase the effectiveness of teaching medical disciplines to UzhNU students and enhance the educational process.