Virtual Table Research Articles

Perspectives of Medical Students and Developers Regarding Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and 3D Printing Technologies: Survey Study

Background Emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and 3D printing (3DP), have transformative potential in education and health care. However, complete integration has not yet been achieved, and routine use is limited. There may exist gaps in the perspectives of these technologies between users and developers, and improvement may be necessary in developing such technologies. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the gaps in perspectives between medical students and developers in medical education regarding satisfaction and anticipated future use of VR, AR, MR, and 3DP technologies, as well as developers’ perspectives on their advantages and current challenges. Methods This retrospective survey study was conducted during a 4-hour elective course over a period of 4 weeks. In this course, computed tomography scans of congenital heart disease patients, medical image processing software, head-mounted displays, and a virtual table were used. Student pre- and postsurveys and the developer survey included demographic and other characteristics, satisfaction, and anticipated future use of VR, AR, MR, and 3DP technologies. The advantages and current challenges of these technologies were only assessed in the developer survey. Results The study enrolled 41 participants, including 15 first-year medical students and 26 software and content developers. Students were more satisfied than developers across AR, VR, and 3DP in terms of overall satisfaction (VR and AR: P<.001; 3DP: P=.002), esthetics (VR: all P<.001; AR: vividness, P=.006 and design, P<.001; 3DP: vividness, P=.001 and design, P=.002), and continuous use intention (VR: repetition, P=.04 and continuous use, P=.02). Particularly in VR, satisfaction with reality was higher among students than among developers (real world, P=.006). Developers anticipated future use of MR for educating medical students and residents, individual and collaborative surgical planning, and performing surgery on patients. In contrast, students anticipated future use of VR primarily for student education, 3DP for resident education and individual surgical planning, and AR for collaborative surgical planning and performing surgery on patients. Developers perceived the inherent capabilities of VR, AR, and MR technologies as strengths, with hardware performance identified as a drawback. For 3DP, the possibility of customized product manufacturing was seen as an advantage, while cost was seen as a disadvantage. Conclusions This study elucidated the different perspectives between medical students and developers regarding 3D technologies, highlighting the discrepancy in potential applications and challenges within the medical field. These findings will guide the integration of 3D technologies in education and health care to fulfill the needs and goals of both medical students and developers.

Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality Environment on Reaction Time, Agility and Coordination among Collegiate Students

Background: Virtual reality is the sum of the hardware and software systems that seek to perfect an all-inclusive, sensory illusion of being present in another environment which is applied to a broad range of sports such as skiing, goalkeeping rugby union, baseball and basketball, pistol shooting and cycling speed. Reaction time is the elapsed time between stimulus onset and an individual’s response on elementary cognitive tasks. Coordination is the capability to perform a sequence of movements rhythmically smoothly and accurately. Agility refers to the capacity to quickly change the location of the entire body in space with quickness and accuracyObjectives: The main objective of this study was to see the effect of virtual reality table tennis on coordination, reaction time and agility among collegiate students.Material and Methods: Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 60 collegiate students of age group 18-24 years were taken. The subjects were divided into two groups as group A and group B of 30 each. Group A played table tennis game in real environment and group B played table tennis in virtual environment. Pre and post score were taken for coordination, reaction time and agility using hand eye coordination test, plate tapping test and Davies test respectively. The data was collected, compiled and analyzed.Result:Descriptive statistics, paired & unpaired ‘t’ test were used for the intra-group and intergroup comparison.Significant improvements were seen in post scores of coordination, reaction time and agility in both groups at 0.05 level in both real and virtual table tennis groups. However, when both groups were compared, non-significant differences were observed in all the variables.Conclusion:The study concluded that virtual reality table tennis is as effective as real table tennis in improving reaction time, coordination and agility among collegiate students.

Using virtual reality to assess gesture performance deficits in schizophrenia patients.

Gesture performance deficits are prevalent in schizophrenia patients and are strongly associated with poor social communication skills and community functioning, affecting their overall quality of life. Currently, video-recording technology is widely used in clinical settings to assess gesture production deficits in schizophrenia patients. Nevertheless, the subjective evaluation of video-recordings can encumber task assessment. The present study will aim to use virtual reality to examine its potential use as an alternative tool to objectively measure gesture performance accuracy in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Gesture performance in the virtual reality setting will be based on the well-established Test of Upper Limb Apraxia. Participants will be immersed in a virtual environment where they will experience themselves being embodied in a collocated virtual body seen from a first-person perspective. Motion trackers will be placed on participants' hands and elbows to track upper body movements in real-time, and to record gesture movement for later analysis. Participants will see a virtual agent sitting across from them, with a virtual table in between. The agent will perform various types of gestures and the participants' task will be to imitate those gestures as accurately as possible. Measurements from the tracking devices will be stored and analyzed to address gesture performance accuracy across groups. This study aims to provide objective measurements of gesture performance accuracy in schizophrenia patients. If successful, the results will provide new knowledge to the gesture literature and offer the potential for novel therapeutic interventions using virtual reality technologies. Such interventions can improve gesturing and thus advance social communication skills in schizophrenia patients.

Use of the Anatomage Virtual Table in Medical Education and as a Diagnostic Tool: An Integrative Review.

Studies on human anatomy mainly dependon cadaver dissection. New technology devices have progressed to improve anatomy teaching, such as the 3D Anatomage virtual dissection table. There is a shortage and deficiency in information about the uses and benefits of the Anatomagetable. The aim of this articlewas to review and assess the current evidence about the advantages of the Anatomage virtual table in medicaleducation and curricula of medical courses, and its utility in diagnosis. The current study is a comprehensive systematic review. A search was conducted on online medical and scientific databases. Twenty-nine articles relevant to the content of the current research topic were selected. Based on this review, the use of the Anatomage table is valuable for anatomy learning outcomes, and most of the research supported it as an important anatomy tool in addition to cadaveric dissection. The Anatomage table in association with human dissection can improve knowledge retention of anatomy. It is an important tool for understanding organ variation. Anatomage is now considered an important tool for the educational training programs of medical students and residents and for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Anatomage can make the curriculum more interesting and valuable. Utilizing the Anatomage table can help medical and paramedical students and residents by assisting them to understand anatomy in a better way. It will alsoimprove radiological knowledge and facilitate pre-planning for surgeries. Finally, it has a crucial role during exceptional circumstancessuch as pandemics.

OVERCOMING OLDER ADULT RESISTANCE TO TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT DIGITAL HEALTH LITERACY: A CBPR APPROACH

Abstract Overall low digital use by older adults creates a barrier to tools that enable them access to basic and specialty healthcare through telehealth and address their isolation and loneliness. In particular, older adults with low-income, like low-income isolated Home Delivered Meal (HDM) program recipients, can be most vulnerable to this barrier. A university team and a local Commission on Aging jointly secured funding to pilot the Virtual Table (VT) model which builds on relationships between HDM drivers and meal recipients to overcome lack of interest and skepticism of technology like the internet and video chatting. For the pilot, 25 recipients were recruited to learn basic technology skills (e.g., email, video chat) from trusted peer tutors through weekly one-to-one sessions, in-person or by video, leading to knowledge and skills to support telehealth utilization. Twenty recipients (80%) are completing the pilot. Results to date show increased technology use and comfort, together with confidence to use telehealth. Participants valued the interactions with tutors as well as what they learned. Feedback from tutors, agency staff, and participants has been used to refine the pilot during implementation. Building on the lessons learned and feedback, the goal for the next stage of collaboration is developing a set of effective tools to implement VT in several diverse communities. Four VT ‘graduates’ will be actively involved as co-producers of these revised tools. In addition, older adult home-delivered-meal (HDM) recipients, agency staff, tutors, and other older adult volunteers will directly participate in ongoing evaluation of the new resources.

A Seat at the Virtual Table: Emergent Inclusion in Remote Meetings

The shift to virtual has changed our society and left an impact on nearly every part of our lives. Although it brought many challenges, global remote access also opened up a world of educational and professional opportunities for many people who did not have them before. In this work, we detail the findings of a study collecting feedback on inclusivity in virtual, in-person, and hybrid spaces, with the goal of building a greater understanding of the issues and personal challenges faced by access and equity stakeholders. From a survey of 104 individuals and detailed interviews with 12, we have used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to discover key challenges. The diversity of experiences and opinions was striking, with many winners and losers going into the virtual space. We propose some modifications to the online environment and in-person practices with the aim of furthering equality.

Semi-automated data collection from electronic health records in a stroke unit in Brazil.

There is a high demand for stroke patient data in the public health systems of middle and low-income countries. To develop a stroke databank for integrating clinical or functional data and benchmarks from stroke patients. This was an observational, cross-sectional, prospective study. A tool was developed to collect all clinical data during hospitalizations due to stroke, using an electronic editor of structured forms that was integrated with electronic medical records. Validation of fields in the electronic editor was programmed using a structured query language (SQL). To store the results from SQL, a virtual table was created and programmed to update daily. To develop an interface between the data and user, the Embarcadero Delphi software and the DevExpress component were used to generate the information displayed on the screen. The data were extracted from the fields of the form and also from cross-referencing of other information from the computerized system, including patients who were admitted to the stroke unit. The database was created and integrated with the hospital electronic system, thus allowing daily data collection. Quality indicators (benchmarks) were created in the database for the system to track and perform decision-making in conjunction with healthcare service managers, which resulted in improved processes and patient care after a stroke. An intelligent portal was created, in which the information referring to the patients was accessible. Based on semi-automated data collection, it was possible to create a dynamic and optimized Brazilian stroke databank.

Measuring and evaluating standardization of scrub nurse instrument table setups: a multi-center study

ObjectivesIn-depth knowledge about surgical processes is a crucial prerequisite for future systems in operating rooms and the advancement of standards and patient safety in surgery. A holistic approach is required, but research in the field of surgical instrument tables, standardized instrument setups and involved personnel, such as nurses, is sparse in general. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether there is an existing standard within clinics for an instrument table setup. We also evaluate to which extent it is known to the personnel and whether it is accepted.Materials and MethodsThe study makes use of the Nosco Trainer, a scrub nurse training and simulation system developed to analyze various aspects of the workplace of scrub nurses. The system contains a virtual instrument table, which is used to perform and record instrument table setups. We introduce a metric which delivers a measurable score for the similarity of surgical instrument table setups. The study is complemented with a questionnaire covering related aspects.ResultsFifteen scrub nurses of the Otolaryngology departments at three clinics in Germany and Switzerland performed a table setup for a Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery intervention and completed the questionnaire. The analysis of the developed metric with a leave one out cross-validation correctly allocated 14 of the 15 participants to their clinic.DiscussionIn contrast to the identified similarities of table setups within clinics with the collected data, only a third of the participants confirmed in the questionnaire that there is an existing table setup standard for Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery interventions in their facility, but almost three quarters would support a written standard and acknowledge its possible benefits for trainees and new entrants in the operating room.ConclusionsThe structured analysis of the surgical instrument table using a data-driven metric for comparison is a novel approach to gain deeper knowledge about intra-operative processes. The insights can contribute to patient safety by improving the workflow between surgeon and scrub nurse and also open the way for goal-oriented standardization.

Improving simulated consumption context with virtual Reality: A focus on participant experience

Context can have a significant impact on liking, emotional response and product choice, and Virtual Reality (VR) is a promising tool to evoke realistic consumption contexts in a controlled testing environment. This study compared an innovative approach – combining a 360° video and a 3D model with object tracking to an Evoked context using pictures and sound recordings to simulate a realistic consumption environment for beer (i.e. bar). This study explored consumer experience of the innovative VR design and measured their engagement with it compared to an Evoked scenario. Additionally, participants’ emotional response and liking between the two contexts and the effect of including a VR training session prior to data collection were also explored. In total, 27 beer consumers participated in this study. The novel VR method that was developed for this study consisted of 360° video footage recorded in a bar with sound, which was projected around a virtual table model with an integrated questionnaire, using a pen and beer bottles attached to tracking devices. The Evoked context consisted of a picture slideshow and sound recording to simulate the exact same bar context. An interview was conducted after the VR training session to explore consumer experience of the VR design. Participant engagement was then measured after participants completed both the VR and Evoked sessions respectively. The results showed that the VR session had clear advantages in terms of participant engagement compared to the Evoked session. Audio, the time spent in VR, and realistically simulated presence of other people were identified as key elements that improved realism and immersion of the VR context, whilst low image quality and technical problems had the opposite effect. The first exposure to VR was shown to have high novelty and further impact on the emotional response to beer, which highlighted the importance of having a training/dummy session to reduce VR novelty and associated effect.

Vector 3D Reconstruction of the Nerves of the Ventral Region of the Neck from Anatomical Sections of Korean Visible Human at the Laboratory of Digital Anatomy of Paris Descartes

Objective: To carry out a 3D vector reconstruction of the nerves of the ventral region of the neck from anatomical sections of the “Korean Visible Human” for educational purposes. Materials and Methods: The anatomical subject was a 33-year-old Korean man who died of leukemia. He was 164cm tall and weighed 55kgs. A cryomacrotome sectioned the frozen body into 5960 sections. Sections numbered 1500 to 2000 were used for this study. A segmentation by manual contouring of each nervous anatomical element of the ventral region of the neck was done using Winsurf version 3.5 software on a laptop PC running Windows 10 equipped with an 8 gigabyte RAM. Results: Our vector 3D model of nerves in the ventral neck region includes the brachial plexuses, vagus nerves, inferior and superior laryngeal nerves, glossopharyngeal nerves, hypoglossal nerves and spinal nerves. This vector model has been integrated into the Diva3d virtual dissection table. It was also uploaded to the Sketchfab website and 3D printed using an ENDER 3 printer. Conclusion: Our 3D reconstruction of the nerves of the ventral region of the neck is an educational tool for learning the nerves of the ventral region of the neck and can also serve as a 3D atlas for simulation purposes for training in therapeutic gestures.

What does good engagement and communication with your major gift prospect community look like in the COVID-19 era? Ask your donors

This paper will share findings from a piece of research undertaken by the advancement team at the University of York (UoY) into the needs, interests and concerns of its donor community in the context of the global pandemic. This research helped to shape the ways in which the university’s advancement team and senior leadership colleagues continued to fundraise for UoY’s first institutional campaign. Although particularised to UoY, the paper focuses on two key transferable points: those of the importance of gathering insights from your donor community during a time of great challenge and uncertainty and how gathering around a virtual table is not as limiting as we might have anticipated. The paper aims to share some of the learnings from the research undertaken by the advancement team and to encourage advancement professionals to put your donor community at the heart of your case for support. It will provide insights into how colleagues at UoY have continued to engage, cultivate and steward their donor community despite the challenges posed to fundraising for higher education.

Testing an Immersive Virtual Environment for Decreasing Intergroup Anxiety among University Students: An Interpersonal Perspective

This study examined the use of an immersive virtual environment (IVE) in decreasing intergroup anxiety among university students. In Dinner-time360 , the students engaged in an interpersonal encounter by sharing a virtual dinner table with someone from another linguistic or cultural group. A control group watched the documentary in a traditional 2D format. The re-sults showed that the documentary reduced intergroup anxiety in both situa-tions, particularly among students with high anxiety who engaged in the IVE. For the IVE viewers, the decrease in intergroup anxiety was connected to two interpersonal elements: perceptions of the character’s immediacy and an in-creased level of homophily. These findings provide insights into the possibil-ities of IVEs in multicultural learning among university students.

Research on the Design of Automatic Testing Software for Modular Terminal Full Performance

Design the terminal full-performance automatic detection system software to realize the functional logic test of the actual table and the virtual table. The detection system is aimed at the detection of collection terminals. The system software is compatible with multiple protocols and supports system expansion. The automatic detection system adopts a multi-layer technical system design, through the service bus to realize the collaborative work of the components of the system, and realize the integration of all levels. The control terminal is connected with the collection terminal under test to simulate the communication situation. The inspection software supports business process testing, logic validity testing, performance limit testing and equipment compatibility testing. The designed automatic detection system software has the characteristics of low coupling, high flexibility, high scalability, and high reliability.

Transfer of Learning from a Virtual Table Tennis Game to Drinking from a Glass Task in Stroke Patients

Background: Given that stroke is the cause of several neurological impairments, it is necessary to evaluate interventions that can improve patients' motor performance and functionality. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the motor learning transfer of a training program using a virtual table tennis game. We hypothesized that playing the virtual game may improve the performance of stroke patients in a functional activity (drinking from a glass). Moreover, this virtual reality training may have different effects according to the brain injury side. Methods: A non-randomized controlled study was performed. Sampling was by convenience. Evaluation and revaluation of a drinking from a glass task were conducted through kinematic analysis (transfer test). The training was carried out with XBOX 360 table tennis game (20 attempts). Performance (number of hits) in the game and average angular velocity of the drinking task were analyzed by ANOVA. Results: The study included 20 hemiparesis patients (10 left), mean age 50.6 (SD 9.2) years, and 20 healthy individuals, mean age 50.9 (SD 8.8) years. Patients showed worse performance than healthy subjects; however, they improved performance between the first and last attempts (P = 0.001). In the transfer test, left hemiparetic patients exhibited significant improvement in the shoulder (P = 0.0001) and elbow average angular velocity (P = 0.0001), but this did not occur in right hemiparetic patients (shoulder: P = 0.761; elbow: P = 0.666). Conclusions: The results suggest that the virtual game has clinical potential in the motor learning transfer process to a functional activity in the real world, mainly for patients with right brain injury.

Ball Motion Control in the Table Tennis Robot System Using Time-Series Deep Reinforcement Learning

One of the biggest challenges hindering a table tennis robot to play as well as a professional player is the ball’s accurate motion control, which depends on various factors such as the incoming ball’s position, linear, spin velocity and so forth. Unfortunately, some factors are almost impossible to be directly measured in real practice, such as the ball’s spin velocity, which is difficult to be estimated from vision due to the little texture on the ball’s surface. To perform accurate motion control in table tennis, this study proposes to learn a ball stroke strategy to guarantee desirable “target landing location” and the “over-net height” which are two key indicators to evaluate the quality of a stroke. To overcome the spin velocity challenge, a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based stroke approach is developed with the spin velocity estimation capability, through which the system can predict the relative spin velocity of the ball and stroke it back accurately by iteratively learning from the robot-environment interactions. To pre-train the DRL-based strategy effectively, this paper develops a virtual table tennis playing environment, through which various simulated data can be collected. For the real table tennis robot implementation, experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed control strategy compared to that of the traditional aerodynamics-based method with an average landing error around 80mm and the landing-within-table probability higher than 70%.

Value-Flow-Based Demand-Driven Pointer Analysis for C and C++

We present Supa, a value-flow-based demand-driven flow- and context-sensitive pointer analysis with strong updates for C and C++ programs. Supa enables computing points-to information via value-flow refinement, in environments with small time and memory budgets. We formulate Supa by solving a graph-reachability problem on an inter-procedural value-flow graph representing a program's def-use chains, which are pre-computed efficiently but over-approximately. To answer a client query (a request for a variable's points-to set), Supa reasons about the flow of values along the pre-computed def-use chains sparsely (rather than across all program points), by performing only the work necessary for the query (rather than analyzing the whole program). In particular, strong updates are performed to filter out spurious def-use chains through value-flow refinement as long as the total budget is not exhausted. We have implemented Supa on top of LLVM (4.0.0) together with a comprehensive micro-benchmark suite after a years-long effort (consisting of around 400 test cases, including hand-written ones and the ones extracted from real programs). We have evaluated Supa by choosing uninitialized pointer detection and C++ virtual table resolution as two major clients, using 24 real-world programs including 18 open-source C programs and 6 large CPU2000/2006 C++ benchmarks. For uninitialized pointer client, Supa achieves improved precision as the analysis budget increases, with its flow-sensitive (context-insensitive) analysis reaching 97.4 percent of that achieved by whole-program Sparse Flow-Sensitive analysis (SFS) by consuming about 0.18 seconds and 65 KB of memory per query, on average (with a budget of at most 10,000 value-flow edges per query). With context-sensitivity also considered, Supa becomes more precise for some programs but also incurs more analysis times. To further demonstrate the effectiveness of Supa, we have also evaluated Supa in resolving C++ virtual tables by querying the function pointers at every virtual callsite. Compared to analysis without strong updates for heap objects, Supa's demand-driven context-sensitive strong update analysis reduces 7.35 percent spurious virtual table targets with only 0.4 secs per query, on average.

Letter of Editor

We are pleased to announce a new addition to the international medical information space - the Journal of Internal Medicine: Science & Art (JIMSA). This new online medical journal opened its pages to physicians and scientists around the globe to reflect the essence of their world views and professional views on diverse aspects of internal medicine practice and knowledge.
 
 It is critically important to understand that the meaning of "health" has changed dramatically. Prophylactics and treatments have improved with the focus directed toward quality of life and survival for generations living in the era of co- and multiple morbidity "monsters." In addition, environmental impacts of ongoing pandemics, technical pollution, and disasters have a dramatic impact on the health of the population. At the forefront, internal medicine integrates advanced discoveries of biomedical scientists and physicians from the different subspecialty fields including cardiology, pulmonary, gastroenterology, rheumatology, neurology, dietary science, and other related disciplines. It is important to combine medical knowledge and find a consensus in the global understanding of health problems based on gender and age differences, while focusing on the quality of life and cognitive health of our society. Internists have the qualifications to focus on this high-quality science.
 
 The concept of this new journal is to publish up to date discoveries in the fields of epidemiology, prevention, and treatment of different medical conditions; it will address the results of new medical research and international clinical trials. The scientific platform of JIMSA is international, as the whole of medicine is now without borders. We are inviting all internal medicine physicians and scientists working around the world to contribute to the journal.
 
 The main direction of the publication will be original research including, but not limited to, pharmacotherapy, new diagnostics, results of clinical studies, experts' opinion and consensus, meta-analyses, registers, and innovations. We hope that among the most attractive aspects of the journal will be our invitations to leading experts in the field of internal medicine to discuss new views and opinions, the organization of virtual workshops and round tables, and the exchange of knowledge, clinical reports, reviews, and comments. Practicing physicians will have the opportunity to publish special clinical cases, participate in interdisciplinary discussions, familiarize themselves with international protocols and recommendations, and actively participate in practice-based learning.
 
 We anticipate that JIMSA’s professional platform will open new opportunities to internal medicine specialists from different countries to learn and share their knowledge. The journal will help unite clinicians according to their goals and interests, and facilitate international partnerships that will produce patients' benefits. Please join us in the search for concurring people in the global international information space! Free yourself in time and space to find new professional contacts!
 
 The editorial board of JIMSA is open to a new progressive and convenient form of communication with a professional audience, and international integration of knowledge and skills to the medical community for educational and professional development. That's why our motto is "Superbi progressu aspiramus ad maximum" (the proud aspire to great promise).

Protocols for 3D-printing pieces by fused deposition modeling for research purposes: from modeling to post-printing treatment

Additive manufacturing or 3D-printing is a revolutionary technique for prototyping and building objects for final use. Since the first registers at ~1890 the improved technology has boosted the applications of such technique, decreasing its market price. The most affordable 3D-print technique is Fuse Deposition Modeling (FDM), which is based on a layer-by-layer deposition of a fused polymer on a cooled table. Although FDM has been used by industrials, students and researchers, there are few published protocols dealing with small challenges and daily problems. Here we use a basic object to detail pre- and post-printing steps. This technical note offers the reader tools to model, print and treat the 3D-object. We point out basic challenges, such as positioning the objects on the virtual table of the slicing software, that may lead towards undesirable printed pieces. The protocols described here do not cover the uncountable possibilities of 3D-printing by FDM, but surely help researchers and industrials to start working with it. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30609/JETI.2020-8625

Protocols for 3D-printing pieces by fused deposition modeling for research purposes: from modeling to post-printing treatment

Additive manufacturing or 3D-printing is a revolutionary technique for prototyping and building objects for final use. Since the first registers at ~1890 the improved technology has boosted the applications of such technique, decreasing its market price. The most affordable 3D-print technique is Fuse Deposition Modeling (FDM), which is based on a layer-by-layer deposition of a fused polymer on a cooled table. Although FDM has been used by industrials, students and researchers, there are few published protocols dealing with small challenges and daily problems. Here we use a basic object to detail pre- and post-printing steps. This technical note offers the reader tools to model, print and treat the 3D-object. We point out basic challenges, such as positioning the objects on the virtual table of the slicing software, that may lead towards undesirable printed pieces. The protocols described here do not cover the uncountable possibilities of 3D-printing by FDM, but surely help researchers and industrials to start working with it.
 
 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30609/JETI.2020-8625

Application of multi-touch virtual anatomy system in the otolaryngology teaching

The residents and low-grade resident trainees of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of the Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine were selected as subjects. In the multi-touch virtual anatomy system, the lecturers made the anatomical signs of otolaryngology head and neck surgery, and applied them through the training method. Then the teachers explained the three sub-specialties of the nose, throat, neck and ear in the multi-touch virtual dissection table. The teaching method can stimulate the learning interest because of its vivid three-dimensional sense. The characteristics of teaching and learning are beneficial to the cultivation of medical education teachers. In addition, the one-time investment of equipment breaks through the supply bottleneck of traditional anatomical consumables and promotes active learning among medical students. The multi-touch virtual anatomy system can effectively improve the teaching methods, facilitate the interesting teaching, and has broad application prospects in medical teaching. Key words: Multi-touch virtual anatomy system; Otolaryngology; Teaching; Application