Development of an educational tool in human anatomy with the use of QR codes

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe anatomy's study has a fundamental role in the health area courses, but the approach towards it has been inappropriate at many times. The challenging terminology and the difficult handling of the anatomic pieces require compatibility between the teaching method and the student's preferences. As shown in many studies, a large number of students are not satisfied with anatomy's teaching methods and do not learn as much as they think they could.OBJECTIVEThis study seeks to develop an effective tool for the learning of anatomy, using QR codes linked to information on determined muscles.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe elected structures for this study were the gastrocnemius (GM) and the rectus femoris (RFM) muscles. We selected dissected anatomical specimens from the collection of the Department of Morphology, Santa Casa de São Paulo School of Medical Sciences which GM and RFM were intact and with well visible belly and attachments. To approach them, we photographed and produced digital content with information about their origin, insertion, and action, along with additional topics. The website used to produce this content was “Wix.com” each link was associated with a QR code.RESULTSThe QR codes were printed and attached to the specimen in a way that students could use their cell phones to scan the codes and access the content corresponding to the muscle in question (Figure 1). The photo of the dissected muscle is then displayed on the screen accompanied by the basic function and fixation information (Figure 2). In this same screen, a link for those who want more information about this muscle, such as irrigation, innervation and clinical applications (Figure 3). This tool can be used by either IOS or Android phones.CONCLUSIONThe final result will be of value to increase the undergraduate's performance and will contribute to the development of different teaching methods, stimulating the student to use his own cell phone as a tool to aid his study alongside the dissected anatomical specimen.Support or Funding InformationPiBiC, CNPq 2018, BrazilThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.