A group of Live Oak High School seniors took a scalpel and peeled back the skin of a cadaver named Victor to display his muscle system on Friday.
The scalpel and Victor, however, were both virtual. It is part of new advanced technology in Live Oak's anatomy class to teach students about the human body.
The virtual dissection now being implemented in Live Oak and other Livingston Parish schools is a 3D medical technology called Anatomage that takes real cadavers and turns them into virtual ones for students to study on touch-screen tables and tablets. Anatomage's educational tools mimic the dissection process, letting students zoom in on screen to view parts of the human body and separate them from the rest to look at their structures.聽
Two high schools, Albany High and Live Oak High, use Anatomage tables for anatomy classes and other medical classes. Walker High School recently began using the company's tablets for its program.
Anna Harrison, Live Oak anatomy teacher and athletic trainer, teaches her students with the program and says using it at a high school level is "phenomenal."
Anatomage uses pictures of real human cadavers, including specific images of the insides of their bodies, to create its 3D virtual replicas for students to study.聽
Harrison said it is great for explaining bones and muscles, and it also includes case studies that demonstrate various conditions, such as heart failure and gastric cancer.聽
The Live Oak class received the table last year, but she said they have really started to take advantage of it this year. The high school has, in recent years, expanded its medical program, including bringing back anatomy class after disbanding it in the past.
As an LSU student, Harrison took a class using a real cadaver.聽
"This is extremely comparable," she said about the table.
'Easier to learn'
To little surprise, anatomy is a popular course at the school. There are 180 students in six classes that are near maximum capacity.
The group of anatomy students gathered around the digital table Friday used a combination of tools to "cut open" the virtual cadavers and display all parts of the body.
The group pointed to bones, easily identifying them, a sign of their most recent test on the skeletal system.
"The spine looks like a train track," senior student Baryn Phenix said while the group worked with the program.
The students all agreed on their favorite part of using Anatomage.
"Definitely the cutting," senior Anna Delanoix said.
Also known as "slicing and dicing," joked senior Mya Robertson.聽
Delanoix and Robertson both think using the program is better than other options, like coloring sheets or photos.
"It's just so much easier to learn," Delanoix said about using the virtual table.
Delanoix, Robertson and most of their peers in the class are interested in pursuing a career in a medical field after graduation.
Some students, however, are interested in pursuing other professional fields and just thought the class looked promising.
Phenix wants to do electrical work for Entergy one day and signed up for anatomy over other science options because he knew Harrison and her class were a fun environment.
"Overall, it's definitely one of the better classes I've had in the past few years,' he said.
It has also helped students learn about bodily functions that apply to their everyday lives.
DJ Williams, a senior, said the program can help him recognize an injury and understand which muscles he is using when he plays football for the school.
Students like Tayla McCray, another senior, said they are definitely more aware of how their bodies function and can more specifically describe any pain they might ever have.
"My femur is really aching, and my metacarpals are really hurting," McCray joked.