Anatomy’s Andrew Crofton named 2021 John S. Diekhoff Award for Graduate Teaching recipient
May 2021
In each of his anatomy classes, Andrew “Andy” Crofton tailors his teaching method to the students as individuals—a style they say creates an environment in which they feel respected and motivated to achieve at their highest level. It’s among the many reasons Crofton, assistant professor of anatomy at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, will receive the John S. Diekhoff Award for Graduate Teaching during the commencement convocation Sunday, May 30.
Anatomy’s Darin Croft appointed editor-in-chief of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution
February 2020
Darin Croft, professor of anatomy, was appointed editor-in-chief of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution, a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes a wide variety of research spanning morphology, molecular biology, paleobiology, genetics, ethology and ecology, and other subjects related to mammalian evolutionary biology.
What are the potential uses for the Microsoft HoloLens?
April 2020
The Microsoft HoloLens deliver an immersive Mixed Reality experience which allows users to explore experiences otherwise impossible. Mixed Reality is proven to engage and drive retention of information in a compelling way as developers continue to expand applications into various areas of study. Because organizations and individuals are constantly developing more applications for HoloLens, the opportunities continue to expand. New applications are rolled out and made available similar to the way in which applications are rolled out to tablet devices.
The landscape for applications will continue to expand, and CWRU has been recognized as leading the charge in innovation. An example of this was a partnership with CWRU to develop a narwal exhibit for the Smithsonian. This exhibit gave visitors new insight into the mysterious arctic mammal with the ability to experience their habitat in a mesmerizing manner narrated by Meryl Streep.
What better way is there to learn the narwal’s tusk is actually a tooth?
Learn more about this project with Interactive Commons here.
Case Western Reserve-led team among 38 from 16 countries selected to compete for $10 million prize
April 2020
A team led by Case Western Reserve University biomedical engineer Dustin Tyler has made it a step closer to the finals in a global competition to develop an “Avatar System that will transport a human’s sense, actions and presence to a remote location in real time, leading to a more connected world.”
On Monday, the XPrize Foundation—the same organization behind $10 million of financial support in 2004 to make the first privately funded human spaceflight—announced its semifinalists in a $10 million “global competition: 38 teams from 16 countries.
Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine Partners with HoloAnatomy® Software Suite
February 2021
Pictured: Senior Associate Dean, Bryan Caldwell, DPM, and Associate Professor of Pre-Clinical Sciences, Stephanie Belovich, Ph.D.
Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine (KSUCPM) has further expanded its cutting-edge, advanced technologies by partnering with Case Western Reserve University’s HoloAnatomy® Team as it implements HoloAnatomy® mixed reality software into the college’s modern educational environment.
KSUCPM faculty and staff are among the leading podiatrists and medical scientists in the country which is why HoloAnatomy® Software was the ideal fit. Through HoloAnatomy® Software Suite, KSUCPM anatomy professors will instruct their students by adopting immersive and engaging holographic learning experiences. Faculty are delighted with the flexibility they have to create their own customizable anatomical content, with access to more than 8,500 exquisitely detailed 3D anatomical objects, divided between female and male models. The new digital curriculum is then presented to students using Microsoft HoloLens 2 devices.
”We are excited to introduce our students to HoloAnatomy®”, said Jill Kawalec, Ph.D., Professor and Division Head of Preclinical Sciences at Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine. “The addition of holographic instruction to our anatomy courses will enhance student learning, as it will allow them to visualize the structures in a way that is perhaps not possible in a cadaver alone. As a result, our students will develop a stronger foundation in anatomy upon which will build upon their continued training to become superior podiatric physicians and surgeons.”
Case Western Reserve University HoloAnatomy® Team is pleased to welcome Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine as a new partner joining other esteemed institutions including Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Oxford, Northwestern University, Texas Christian University, and California Health Sciences University.
Global first in mixed-reality education during COVID-19 pandemic
September 2020
Newswise — CLEVELAND—The developers of Case Western Reserve University’s signature HoloAnatomy mixed-reality software for the Microsoft HoloLens knew they were likely achieving a global first this Spring when they quickly pivoted to the first-ever, all-remote anatomy course when the COVID-19 pandemic kept 185 first-year medical students from coming to campus.
Case Western Reserve University achieves apparent global first with mixed-reality education during ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
September 2020
CLEVELAND — As the world pivoted to life at home amid the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine found an innovative way to engage their students.
Remote HoloAnatomy® Study Published in JAMA
September 2020
JAMA, or the Journal of American Medical Association, published the study that we performed on the experience and assessment of the Remote HoloAnatomy® Software course, delivered in the spring semester of the academic year 2019-2020.
HoloAnatomy® Software Featured in EDUCAUSE Digital Review 2020
August 2020
EDUCAUSE Review, a magazine that takes a broad look at current development and trends in technology to see how it relates to college and universities. This magazine dives into how the IT community works together with the higher education institutions to enhance their future. This issue of EDUCAUSE Review featured the HoloAnatomy® Software Suite showing that the world is adapting to changes. “This pandemic may break higher education. Yet it may also remake it, by forcing shifts that seemed unimaginable just a few months ago.” In this issues, the HoloAnatomy® Software Suite was featured as 3D learning, expressing that education doesn’t just exist at college or university as the physical sense, but also creating a digital world for students to discover and expand their knowledge.
Can medical students learn anatomy without a cadaver? COVID-19 is forcing the question
The “first cut” in a gross anatomy class, when a student uses a scalpel to slice into the skin of a cadaver, is a nerve-wracking experience for anyone embarking on a medical career. But it’s almost sacred, too. As students begin their hands-on anatomy education, they also have to ruminate on life and death, and their relationship with their future patients.
Universities Get Creative With Technology Due to Coronavirus Closures
Universities scrambled over the past month to move classes online as the coronavirus pandemic forced campus closures. With social distancing likely to extend through the spring semester, chief information officers are taking stock of their actions, identifying quick solutions that could one day become permanent fixtures on a postcrisis campus.
Mixed Reality: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Teaching and Learning
July 2018
Teaching and learning with technology, prior to this point, was mostly limited to supplementary collaboration tools for communication: learning management systems and electronic texts. The technology was simply an electronic aid to traditional didactic teaching, adding a little modern muscle to the same ways we have taught and learned for decades. We are now entering an era where technology really does the teaching, providing an entirely new mechanism for learning.
IC at Cleveland Clinic's "Ideas for Tomorrow" with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
June 2017
The IC’s work on the HoloAnatomy® Software was featured on stage at Cleveland Clinic’s Ideas for Tomorrow lecture series with Satya Nadella and Toby Cosgrove. After a few days of preparation, the IC team was able to demonstrate a live broadcast from our own custom camera rig showing the holograms that the on-stage presenters could see. The demonstration begins at about 45 minutes into the linked video. For the record, Toby’s request to see the brain at the end was completely spontaneous. Thankfully the IC team is always prepared!
Sheryl Sandberg Gets a Tour
June 2017
Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook and founder of Leanin.org, came to Cleveland as part of Cleveland Clinic’s Ideas for Tomorrow lecture series. During this visit, she got a demo of our HoloAnatomy® Software from Erin Henninger and Kerrin Sunshine, and afterwards she posted about it!
Scientists Are Turning Your Body Into Holograms. Doctors, architects, and even elevator technicians are using artificial reality to re-design their work
June 2017
Katie Couric Visits IC
May 2017
Journalist Katie Couric visited Cleveland as part of her reporting series “Cities on the Rise.” As part of this story, she went on a virtual anatomy tour with Toby Cosgrove and Mark Griswold. This was an experience of an early version of the curriculum that will be used in our new Health Education Campus. Mark also got to hold her hand for a moment.
The Unreal, Bleeding-Edge Tech That’s Helping Doctors Make The Cut
June 2017
I couldn’t quite decide whether it was his agonized expression or the detailed tattoos covering his arms that bewildered me the most, but the full-size dummy in a hospital gown wasn’t there to freak people out. He was there to help improve health care for U.S. veterans, part of the technology arsenal of the Veterans Health Administration’s high-tech SimLearn facility, housed in an impressive building on the outskirts of Orlando.
HoloAnatomy® Software Featured in Fortune Magazine
April 2017
Fortune Magazine Editor in Chief, Cliff Leaf, visited the Cleveland Clinic to discuss new disruptions in healthcare. As part of this visit, he tested the HoloAnatomy® Software program being developed at the Interactive Commons with faculty director, Mark Griswold. Besides seeing the body in detail, Cliff said, “Seeing this demo with Dr. Cosgrove, a former heart surgeon who pioneered techniques for valve repair that are widely used to this day, was an extra treat.”
How Virtual Anatomy Will Change Med School
Last week I spent a day at the venerable Cleveland Clinic—the city’s best-known celebrity, perhaps, next to this guy. The hospital (and really, it’s a hospital system with outposts in several cities in the U.S. and abroad) has always been on the spear point of progress—but that has been particularly true over the past 13 years, under the guidance of CEO Toby Cosgrove.
HoloAnatomy® Software App Named Finalist for International Science Media Awards
August 2016
The HoloAnatomy® demo app designed by the Interactive Commons to highlight how mixed-reality technology can transform education, is a finalist in the Jackson Hole Science Media Awards, an international competition that recognizes the best in science communications across a broad range of media. The HoloAnatomy® app has two competitors left in the “Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality” category – one is globally renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, and the other is Google. The winners will be announced in September.
Microsoft Wows Build With HoloLens Hologram Show. HoloLens project head Alex Kipman serves up an eye-popping showcase of Redmond's augmented reality tech.
April 2015
Several years ago, Microsoft released a video called "Productivity Future Vision (2011)," which showed a business traveler navigating a city overlaid with useful information and holographic media presenting itself on any glassy, flat surface available—car windows, buildings, even credit card-sized mini-devices.