Development and evaluation of a 3D mobile application for learning manual therapy in the physiotherapy laboratory

Teaching manual therapy is one of the most relevant issues in a physiotherapy course. However, knowledge of anatomy is considered fundamental for an effective instruction of this topic. Students should be able to refresh this knowledge while practicing manipulative techniques in the teaching laboratory in an efficient way. In this paper, we present a novel anatomy learning application for mobile devices and describe the successful embedding of such tool into a practical manual therapy course in a laboratory. This application provides students with interactive 3D visualizations of medical imaging on easy-to-carry hand-held devices. We also report two evaluations of this tool. The first one was conducted to evaluate the students' and professors' grade of satisfaction when using our tool. The second one was carried out to determine whether the tool has better learning outcomes than standard methods of teaching anatomy. Students and professors rated the proposed m-learning tool very positively. We also found significant relevance in learning outcomes through the use of this tool. We can conclude that the developed application could be a useful tool for studying manual therapy, and that it could be integrated into the existing physiotherapy curricula.

[1]  Peter R Bergethon,et al.  A novel three‐dimensional tool for teaching human neuroanatomy , 2010, Anatomical sciences education.

[2]  P. Mazmanian,et al.  Use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in reflection on learning and practice , 2007, The Journal of continuing education in the health professions.

[3]  Yen-Chun Jim Wu,et al.  Review of trends from mobile learning studies: A meta-analysis , 2012, Comput. Educ..

[4]  John J. Venn,et al.  Effect of Interactive Multimedia on Basic Clinical Psychomotor Skill Performance by Physical Therapist Students , 2006 .

[5]  C C Wright,et al.  Reproducibility and repeatability: errors of three groups of physiotherapists in locating spinal levels by palpation. , 2003, Manual therapy.

[6]  Ralph V. Clayman,et al.  Mobile Technologies to Support the Anatomy Lab: An Introduction of the iPad , 2011 .

[7]  L. Holey,et al.  Manual therapy education. Does e-learning have a place? , 2009, Manual therapy.

[8]  Neil M. Hamilton,et al.  A novel 3D stereoscopic anatomy tutorial , 2012, The clinical teacher.

[9]  Jens H. Krüger,et al.  Evaluation of Interactive Visualization on Mobile Computing Platforms for Selection of Deep Brain Stimulation Parameters , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[10]  Lorna M. Hayward,et al.  Integrating Web‐Enhanced Instruction into a Research Methods Course: Examination of Student Experiences and Perceived Learning , 2004 .

[11]  Pere Pau Vázquez Alcocer,et al.  Practical Volume Rendering in Mobile Devices , 2012, ISVC 2012.

[12]  Markus Hadwiger,et al.  Real-time volume graphics , 2006, Eurographics.

[13]  Hans-Peter Meinzer,et al.  Three‐dimensional visualisation improves understanding of surgical liver anatomy , 2010, Medical education.

[14]  R. Trelease.  Diffusion of innovations: Smartphones and wireless anatomy learning resources , 2008, Anatomical sciences education.

[15]  Pere Brunet,et al.  Interactive visualization of medical volume models in mobile devices , 2012, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[16]  Gunilla C. Nilsson,et al.  The Use of the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Among Personnel and Students in Health Care: A Review , 2008, Journal of medical Internet research.

[17]  M. Arroyo-Morales,et al.  Evaluation of e-learning as an adjunctive method for the acquisition of skills in bony landmark palpation and muscular ultrasound examination in the lumbopelvic region: a controlled study. , 2012, Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics.

[18]  Maria del Carmen Juan Lizandra,et al.  Evaluation of learning outcomes using an educational iPhone game vs. traditional game , 2013, Comput. Educ..

[19]  Marc Levoy,et al.  Display of surfaces from volume data , 1988, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[20]  Illhoi Yoo,et al.  A Systematic Review of Healthcare Applications for Smartphones , 2012, BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making.

[21]  金井 秀作.  The effects of using computer assisted instruction incorporating data from motion analysis video in order to improve the ability of physical therapy students to perform observational gait analysis , 2006 .

[22]  Tolga K. Çapin,et al.  Dual-Finger 3D Interaction Techniques for mobile devices , 2012, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[23]  Elizabeth C. Whipple,et al.  Third-year medical students’ knowledge of privacy and security issues concerning mobile devices , 2012, Medical teacher.

[24]  Doheon Lee,et al.  Discovering context-specific relationships from biological literature by using multi-level context terms , 2012, BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making.

[25]  Gregory S. Ford,et al.  Effect of Computer‐Assisted Instruction Versus Traditional Modes of Instruction on Student Learning of Musculoskeletal Special Tests , 2005 .

[26]  Ralph V. Clayman,et al.  Launching an iPad Program: Lessons Learned from the iMedEd Initative, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine , 2011 .

[27]  Juan Carlos Torres,et al.  Interaction and visualization of 3D virtual environments on mobile devices , 2012, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[28]  Kasper Hornbæk,et al.  Virtual trackballs revisited , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[29]  Diana Veneri,et al.  The role and effectiveness of computer-assisted learning in physical therapy education: A systematic review , 2011, Physiotherapy theory and practice.

[30]  Patricia S O'Sullivan,et al.  Comparison of traditional methods with 3D computer models in the instruction of hepatobiliary anatomy , 2011, Anatomical sciences education.

[31]  Timothy D Wilson,et al.  A head in virtual reality: Development of a dynamic head and neck model , 2009, Anatomical sciences education.

[32]  Susan B. Perry.  Strategies for Teaching Clinical Decision-Making Skills in Neurologic Content: Perspective from the Field , 1999 .

[33]  Timo Ropinski,et al.  Advanced illumination techniques for GPU-based volume raycasting , 2008, SIGGRAPH 2008.

[34]  Qing Zhu,et al.  Status and trends of mobile-health applications for iOS devices: A developer's perspective , 2011, J. Syst. Softw..

[35]  Aitor Moreno,et al.  Interactive visualization of volumetric data with WebGL in real-time , 2011, Web3D '11.

[36]  Gerrit G J M van Zoest,et al.  Three-dimensional manual contact force evaluation of graded perpendicular push force delivery by second-year physiotherapy students during simple feedback training. , 2007, Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics.

[37]  Örjan Smedby,et al.  Web‐based interactive 3D visualization as a tool for improved anatomy learning , 2009, Anatomical sciences education.

[38]  Guoyu Qian,et al.  Automatic testing and assessment of neuroanatomy using a digital brain atlas: Method and development of computer‐ and mobile‐based applications , 2009, Anatomical sciences education.