X-ray imaging virtual online laboratory for engineering undergraduates

Distant-learning engineering students (as well as those in face-to-face settings) should acquire a basic background in radiation-matter interaction physics (usually in the firsts semesters). Some members of this category of scholars may feel some degree of aversion towards these types of pure sciences-related subjects (math, physics, chemistry, etc.). In online learning scenarios, the average student is already an adult (37 years old or above) and sees no special application of the aforementioned courses in his/her current or future professional life. Besides, online institutions tend to lean too much on applet-based simulations. These animated and interactive examples, although might shed some light on the theory associated to the studied physical processes, they also seem stripped down versions of the real events and are felt as disconnected from current scientific environments and engineering settings. For this reason, we describe a novel virtual lab approach to teach the basics of the low-energy interactions present in average X-ray settings. It combines real scientific simulation frameworks with modern computing techniques such as virtualization, cloud infrastructures, containers, networking and shared collaboration environments. It also fosters the use of hugely demanded development tools and programming languages and addresses the fundamentals of digital radiography and the linked electronic standards for image storage and transmission. With this mixed approach that blends scientific concepts, healthcare and state-of-the-art software solutions, our virtual labs have proven (over a period of 5 academic terms) to be very pedagogic and attractive (technically- and scientifically-wise) to online engineering undergraduates. For the sake of completeness, we also propose a hands-on activity that mimics the geometrical peculiarities of X-ray rooms with the help of visible light and cheap materials.