HSE INTERACTIVE MODULES

DEMONSTRATED BY DR. MICHAEL PARKER

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Demo I: Ventilation and Anaerobic Threshold

 (4:59) In this demonstration, Dr. Parker takes viewers through a module that explores the physiology of a person who is exercising...
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Demo II: Normal Cardiac Cycle

 (8:28) In this demonstration, Dr. Parker shows a sophisticated module that brings together various important concepts that are a part of the cardiac cycle...
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Demo III: Change in Velocity - The Airways as Roads

 (3:44) Dr. Parker chose this module to demonstrate how he sometimes draws on analogies when designing his animated diagrams...
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Demo IV: The Fick Principle

 (3:42) What to do with a complex mathematical equation that doesn't easily lend itself to visual clarification?...
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Demo V: Flow - Volume Plot

 (6:17) This interactive diagram shows how adding an element of time to an otherwise static plot can help students better comprehend an oft-used clinical tool...
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Demo VI: Effect of Input / Output on Body Fluid Compartments

 (5:56) For this interactive module, Dr. Parker has developed a real-time simulation that allows students to explore how the contents of IV fluids distribute in a patient's body...
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Demo VII: Single Alveolus in Context of Normal Lung

 (6:41) Here, Dr. Parker demonstrates a simulation that helps students contemplate an alveolus in a normal lung, which in turn is one of the keys to understanding respiratory pathophysiology...
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Demo VIII: Respiratory Changes in Pregnancy

 (2:40) One way to help illuminate respiratory physiology is a discussion of how breathing changes during pregnancy...
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Demo IX: Rib Motion During Breathing

 (5:11) For this interactive diagram, Dr. Parker created a visual aid for a common medical analogy: one that compares the rib cage during breathing to a bucket handle...
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Demo IX: Rib Motion During Breathing

For this interactive diagram, Dr. Michael Parker created a visual aid for a common medical analogy: one that compares the rib cage during breathing to a bucket handle. He found that words alone weren't always effective when students were trying to understand the significance of the comparison. The underlying medical concept tells that as a person breathes in, the rib cage expands in its side-to-side dimension to accommodate the expanding lungs. Similarly, as a bucket handle is moved up from its resting position, it extends farther in the side-to-side dimension.

For the module, Dr. Parker uses two three-dimensional models, both to describe the motion of the ribs during breathing. On the right side of the diagram is a picture of a rib cage shown from the front, with a bucket sitting next to it. When students click on the play button and the animation begins, the ribs move up and down to show the motion of breathing. The bucket handle moves up and down simultaneously. As they watch, students can see that when the bucket handle is at its highest point, it traces the greatest side-to-side dimension, just as when a person breathes in and the rib cage moves up, it also expands side-to-side.

On the left side of the diagram, there is a picture of the rib cage from the side, with an old-fashioned pump handle next to it. If the animation is played again, students see that as the ribs and the pump handle both rise during an in-breath, they also expand side-to-side. This reinforces the lesson.

Dr. Parker points out that he labored to ensure that his models of the rib cage were physiologically sound. He referenced journal articles and actually used experimental data on the angles of the ribs during breathing to be sure he got every detail right. While collaborating on these diagrams with a pulmonologist, the doctor admitted that while he'd used these analogies in the past, even he hadn't fully understood them until he saw them in a visual format, in the diagram. This was a gratifying endorsement for the Human Systems Explorer Project. Say Dr. Parker: "I think we're on the right track here."

Key Lesson: An animated diagram brings to life a difficult analogy, helping students visualize the rib movement during breathing.