Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » New Cardiovascular System App Engages Learners
Education News

New Cardiovascular System App Engages Learners

By Sarah PlumridgeJan 21, 2014
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
First-year medical students Chase Anderson (left) and Samantha Estevez use a new iPad app that simulates the basic concepts of cardiovascular physiology. “The cardiovascular system consists of a lot of components and this app is an innovative way to show how those parts work together and gives us a broader understanding of the system,” said Anderson. 

 

Chase Anderson and Samantha Estevez, first-year medical students, stared at the iPad screen, watching the volume and aortic pressure of the simulated heart change as they increased the preload, the initial stretching of cardiac cells prior to contraction.

The team worked together to better understand concepts of cardiovascular physiology and hemodynamics through a first-of-its kind iPad app called Harvi. The students worked in pairs to encourage discussion.

“The iPad is a platform that we’re familiar with and the visual interaction is engaging and exciting,” said Estevez. “The simulation reinforces the concepts we’ve gone over in class and shows us how everything in the heart is interconnected.”

The app covers topics such as the cardiac cycle, pressure-volume relations, preload, afterload, contractility, lusitropy and ventricular-vascular coupling. Later additions will cover advanced physiological concepts, pathophysiology, disease states and therapeutics and mechanical circulatory support.

As the students worked through a guide put together by John X. Thomas, PhD, senior associate dean for Medical Education, Anderson said the app, “allowed us to gauge and check whether we understood concepts we learned in class. The app’s visualization allowed us to find out if our prediction was right or wrong and showed us why an answer was correct.”

Holding the iPad in portrait orientation, students can read through the textbook and watch animated graphs. They can switch to the simulation at any time by rotating the iPad to landscape.

“The app gives students a perspective they can’t get by virtue of a textbook or a handout with static figures,” said Thomas, also a professor in Physiology and Medical Education. “Seeing the interplay between parameters is important for a student’s understanding of the cardiovascular system, and the dynamics of the system is well captured in the program.”

The iPad exercise was part of a six-week Cardiovascular Blood Module, which introduces first-year students to all aspects of medicine related to the cardiovascular system, including genetics, histology, anatomy, pathophysiology, physical diagnosis and disease treatment and prevention.

Cardiology Education Medical Education Physiology Students
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Northwestern Simulation’s In Situ Training Tests Cardiac Arrest Response Teams

Sep 25, 2023

Research Day 2023 Celebrates Scientific Discoveries and Collaboration

Sep 15, 2023

New Genetic Variants Associated with Resting Heart Rate and Cardiovascular Disease Risk 

Sep 7, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Small, Implantable Device Could Sense and Treat Cancer

Sep 26, 2023

Gene Linked to Glioblastoma Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Immunosuppression

Sep 26, 2023

Northwestern Simulation’s In Situ Training Tests Cardiac Arrest Response Teams

Sep 25, 2023

Investigating the Link Between Iron Deficiency and Regulation of Cell Growth

Sep 25, 2023

Feinberg Investigators Identify How a Residential Neighborhood Can Impact Health

Sep 22, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230914_NM461
20230914_NM644
20230914_NM345
20230914_NM444
20230914_NM464
20230914_NM520
20230914_NM673
20230914_NM641
20230914_NM612
20230914_NM608
20230914_NM602
20230914_NM597

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.