INTERACTIVE BRONCHIAL TREE E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The bronchial tree within the lungs is a complex structure. This complexity appears exaggerated when viewing the structure internally without visual guides such as a map. Subsequently, self orientation and direction can, in some cases, prove difficult for undergraduate medical students and trainee respiratory doctors.

This paper reviews multimedia medical simulators, including those intended for bronchoscopy training. Additionally, this paper proposes an e-learning tool which provides user interactions such as navigation through a 3D bronchial tree, and supplementary multimedia content including photos, video, a map and quiz functionality. This tool also comprises of multiple lung environments to aid in pathology identification. However, for the purposes of this paper, the e-learning environment will include a healthy bronchial tree and a bronchial tree affected by Cystic Fibrosis.

It is intended that a tool such as this could benefit undergraduate medical students and trainee respiratory doctors by providing a practical reference for navigation, orientation and visual segments identification within the bronchial tree.

The methods employed for the creation of this tool will be introduced followed by user interface and system testing. The results of these tests will then be discussed along with the proposal of future implementations.