Experiences with a simulated learning environment - the SimuScape©: virtual environments in medical education

Simulation as a tool for medical education has gained considerable importance in the past years. Various studies have shown that the mastering of basic skills happens best if taught in a realistic and workplace-based context. It is necessary that simulation itself takes place in the realistic background of a genuine clinical or in an accordingly simulated learning environment. A panoramic projection system that allows the simulation of different scenarios has been created at the medical school of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Muenster/Germany. The SimuScape© is a circular training room of six meters in diameter and has the capacity to generate pictures or moving images as well as the corresponding background noises for medical students, who are then able to interact with simulated patients inside a realistic environment. About 1,000 students have been instructed using the SimuScape© in the courses of emergency medicine, family medicine and anesthesia. The SimuScape©, with its 270°-panoramic projection, gives the students the impression “of being right in the center of action”. It is a flexible learning environment that can be easily integrated into curricular teaching and which is in full operation for 10 days per semester. The SimuScape© allows the establishment of new medical areas outside the hospital and surgery for simulation and it is an extremely adaptable and cost-effective utilization of a lecture room. In this simulated environment it is possible to teach objectives like self-protection and patient care during disturbing environmental influences in practicePeer Reviewe

360°-Systeme für die Medizin

Haulsen I, Friederichs H. 360°-Systeme für die Medizin. In: Overschmidt G, Schröder UB, eds. Fullspace-Projektion. X.media.press. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer; 2013: 231-237.Im Folgenden sollen zwei sehr unterschiedliche 360°-Systeme für die Medizin aufgezeigt werden: Zum einen wird dargestellt, wie 360°-Systeme dabei unterstützen können, Diagnosen und Operationen über eine räumliche Sicht in den Körper bzw. durch die 3D-Darstellung von medizinischen Datensätzen zu optimieren. Zum anderen wird das innovative Beispiel des SimuScape® im Studienhospital Münster vorgestellt. Hier werden in 360°-Umgebungen virtuelle Lernsituationen erzeugt, in denen Medizinstudenten in simulierten „Realsituationen“ ihre Handlungsfähigkeit unter Beweis stellen können

Squaring the Circle: How Framing Influences User Behavior around a Seamless Cylindrical Display

Recent research has presented large public displays in novel non-flat shapes such as spheres, curved planes and cylinders, and looked at the influence of the form factor on user behavior. Yet, the basic shape cannot be considered in isolation when interpreting the behavior of passers-by around such displays. In this paper we investigate two further display factors, framedness and seamlessness, that have to be considered in conjunction with the form factor to understand user behavior in front of large non-flat displays. We present the findings from a field study with an interactive column display and take a closer look at how these factors influence actor and bystander behavior. Our results show that rectangular frames act as a sort of funnel for user position and can easily override effects of the nonflat shape on user position and interaction, even though the users didn’t recall the presence of these frames

Experiences with a simulated learning environment - the SimuScape©: Virtual environments in medical education

INTRODUCTION: Simulation as a tool for medical education has gained considerable importance in the past years. Various studies have shown that the mastering of basic skills happens best if taught in a realistic and workplace-based context. It is necessary that simulation itself takes place in the realistic background of a genuine clinical or in an accordingly simulated learning environment. METHODS: A panoramic projection system that allows the simulation of different scenarios has been created at the medical school of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University  Muenster/Germany. The SimuScape© is a circular training room of six meters in diameter and has the capacity to generate pictures or moving images as well as the corresponding background noises for medical students, who are then able to interact with simulated patients inside a realistic environment. RESULTS: About 1,000 students have been instructed using the SimuScape© in the courses of emergency medicine, family medicine and anesthesia. The SimuScape©, with its 270°-panoramic projection, gives the students the impression “of being right in the center of action”.  It is a flexible learning environment that can be easily integrated into curricular teaching and which is in full operation for 10 days per semester. CONCLUSION: The SimuScape© allows the establishment of new medical areas outside the hospital and surgery for simulation and it is an extremely adaptable and cost-effective utilization of a lecture room. In this simulated environment it is possible to teach objectives like self-protection and patient care during disturbing environmental influences in practice

Experiences with a simulated learning environment - the SimuScape©: virtual environments in medical education

Simulation as a tool for medical education has gained considerable importance in the past years. Various studies have shown that the mastering of basic skills happens best if taught in a realistic and workplace-based context. It is necessary that simulation itself takes place in the realistic background of a genuine clinical or in an accordingly simulated learning environment. A panoramic projection system that allows the simulation of different scenarios has been created at the medical school of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Muenster/Germany. The SimuScape© is a circular training room of six meters in diameter and has the capacity to generate pictures or moving images as well as the corresponding background noises for medical students, who are then able to interact with simulated patients inside a realistic environment. About 1,000 students have been instructed using the SimuScape© in the courses of emergency medicine, family medicine and anesthesia. The SimuScape©, with its 270°-panoramic projection, gives the students the impression “of being right in the center of action”. It is a flexible learning environment that can be easily integrated into curricular teaching and which is in full operation for 10 days per semester. The SimuScape© allows the establishment of new medical areas outside the hospital and surgery for simulation and it is an extremely adaptable and cost-effective utilization of a lecture room. In this simulated environment it is possible to teach objectives like self-protection and patient care during disturbing environmental influences in practic

Das SmartSenior-TV-Portal - TV als Service Plattform für Senioren

Das Internet ist längst nicht mehr ausschließlich auf dem Computer beheimatet. Es hat Einzug in Mobiltelefone, Tablet-PCs und TV-Receiver genommen. Dadurch entstanden neue Dienste und Produktmöglichkeiten, die weit über das reine Surfen hinausreichen. Als Beispiele seien hier das Video-Streaming, Online-Chatten, sowie ortsbezogene Dienste (wie das Wetter) genannt. Diese Dienste werden von Senioren aber oft nicht genutzt. Häufige Gründe dafür sind kompliziert gestaltete Webseiten und Benutzeranmeldungen, fehlende Erfahrung im Umgang mit Tastatur und Maus sowie fehlendes Vertrauen in die neuen Technologien. Die Lösung ist die Entwicklung eines auf Webseiten basierenden TV-Portals, das im Besonderen auf die Bedürfnisse und körperlichen Einschränkungen älterer Menschen Rücksicht nimmt. Die hierbei entstehenden Anforderungen betreffen den Style (Darstellung - Schriftgröße, große Buttons, etc.), die Bedienung und Navigation, die Kommunikation, sowie die Hardware (übersichtliche Fernbedienung) selbst

M.: Audience Behavior around Large Interactive Cylindrical Screens

Non-planar screens, such as columns, have been a popular means for displaying information for a long time. In contrast to traditional displays their digital counterparts are mainly flat and rectangular due to current technological constraints. However, we envision bendable displays to be available in the future, which will allow for creating new forms of displays with new properties. In this paper we explore cylindrical displays as a possible form of such novel public displays. We present a prototype and report on a user study, comparing the influence of the display shape on user behavior and user experience between flat and cylindrical displays. The results indicate that people move more in the vicinity of cylindrical displays and that there is no longer a default position when it comes to interaction. As a result, such displays are especially suitable to keep people in motion and to support gesture-like interaction