SBIR-STTR Award

Visible Productions, will create a multimedia program on the cardiac conduction system(CCS) and ventricular septa1 defects (VSD). The prototype will support different learning styles through a multi-level user interface. The interface will be designed for two different learning styles, accommodating different degrees of a priori knowledge. One Style uses non-linear navigation, which is most appropriate for medical students and residents who learn best through active exploration. The other will be linear, and is more appropriate for directed learning. This is more efficient when assisting clinicians and other health care providers in explaining to a lay audience, what the underlying pathophysiology of CCS/VSD is, what surgical options are available, and how intervention corrects the problem. The prototype program has the following elements: 1. Unique content experts. Storyboards and outline from a collaboration between consultant world renowned anatomical and surgical authorities, and VP's educational designers; 2. Unique data. Three dimensional models of the heart constructed from data provided by the Heart Institute for Children; and 3. VP's educational design-and programming expertise. Educational content will be customized for users with different backgrounds, learning styles, and needs. Access to information will be through a unique multi-level user interface created by VP's expert programmers. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Commercial potential for multimedia programs on congenital heart disease is great. Congenital heart disease has been identified as an area of general "knowledge deficiency" in medical education. Modules that build on the concept of multi-level functionality adapted to specific target users expands the commercial market beyond medical students and residents. Other potential consumers of these multimedia products are: nurses, physicians assistants and other health we support personnel and the general public. Gold Standard Publishers and A.D.A.M. software have expressed great interest in distribution of VP multimedia products and would be very interested in distribution of programs on congenital heart disease, beginning with this proposed prototype CC/VSD production. Due to concern over educational deficiencies associated with congenital heart disease, that have been exacerbated by current trends in medical practice. the Society of Thoricic Surgery is also interest in becoming a distributor of congenital heart disease modules.

Based on the results of Phase I, we have 4 aims. The first is the creation of new neonatal/fetal heart models, animations and video from unique data sets and sources including the cardiac conductive system. The second will be to create a multilevel user interface designed to allow users from the surgeon to the patient's family access to content tailored to their level of understanding. The third is the design of an evaluation document to test and refine this multilevel teaching tool and assess its value as compared to conventional teaching and learning methods. The fourth is to create 5 interactive educational multimedia programs on 5 major congenital heart conditions and their relationship to the cardiac conduction system (CCS). The intended audiences are: medical students who need to understand the detailed anatomy, embryology and physiology of the human heart; cardiothoracic residents who need clinical correlations of precise, detailed anatomy and pathophysiology, with operative video of VSD surgical repair. The content is intended for use by clinicians or other health care workers who need to explain to a lay audience, the underlying congenital pathophysiology of CCS/Congenital heart defects, what the surgical procedure entails, and how it will correct the condition. The programs are also designed for use by a lay audience, following a different navigational pathway. The programs will be delivered on compact disk (CD) and Digital Video Disk (DVD). Design criteria will include standards to support web-based delivery in anticipation of Internet II.

Thesaurus Terms:
cardiovascular disorder education, computer assisted instruction, congenital heart disorder, educational resource design /development, interactive multimedia, newborn human (0-6 weeks) computer human interaction, continuing education, education evaluation /planning, heart conduction system, model design /development, structural model DVD /CD ROM