HoloAnatomy® Software Suite: Innovation leads to an evolution in teaching
The HoloAnatomy® Software Suite emerged from a desire to bring the most advanced learning technology to Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic's new Health Education Campus which opened in 2019 named the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion.
As building plans were made, interest in exploring the most advanced learning technology combined with an early introduction to Microsoft HoloLens led to a dramatic change in the CWRU School of Medicine (SOM) anatomy curriculum, from a cadaver-based curriculum to a new digital, “Living Anatomy” curriculum. Far more than just a building, the campus serves as a model for the future of health care education through technology and collaborative experiences.
As early adopters of Microsoft HoloLens, university leaders quickly saw the potential for mixed reality in the teaching of anatomy. While the university hasn’t completely abandoned cadaver-based learning, the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine’s anatomy curriculum has adopted a new digital “Living Anatomy” curriculum after developing and pilot-testing the HoloAnatomy® Software Suite for three years.
The product is now being adopted on other college campuses in the United States and around the world. The University of Oxford in England, the #1 ranked anatomy program in the world. is now using HoloAnatomy® Software with their medical students.
According to a study published by the journal Medical Science Educator in January 2020, the HoloAnatomy® Software Suite was found to be an effective way to teach, The study found that students using the HoloAnatomy® Software Suite required 40% less classroom time to cover the required learning than those doing dissection.