Join us in creating one of the most advanced chiropractic basic sciences learning environments in the western United States, right here at Life Chiropractic College West.
Your participation in the Gross Anatomy Lab Capital Campaign will leverage grants from generous foundations and corporations and ensure the next generation of chiropractors has the instructional tools they need today. When completed, this project will demonstrate Life West is a leading institution in providing top-tier education in the basic sciences.
Click here for more information about the capital campaign that will bring equipment like this to Life West’s anatomy labs.
Digital teaching tool
As every chiropractor knows, the study of anatomy is fundamental to the understanding of the structure, biomechanics and neurology of the human body. First-year students at Life West must master this knowledge to not only succeed in subsequent classroom instruction but to succeed as competent, knowledgeable and empathetic chiropractors.
Life West’s Anatomy Department uses cadavers, cadaver bones and other organic specimens in a hands-on approach that offers a tactile and comprehensive educational experience. Long considered the gold standard in anatomy instruction, there have been only incremental improvements in this instruction for several centuries. With your help, the way Life West teaches anatomy is about to change.
The digital age has ushered in a dramatic and comprehensive new teaching tool, the Anatomage Table[KM1] . Use of this technology will enable faculty to augment instruction by offering anatomically correct 3D imaging with a vast number of interactive instructional permutations. Carefully researched and designed, this educational tool is a technical marvel that provides clinical care review options, is clean and safe, and results in significant cost savings.
The table is equipped with extensive content presets and also provides faculty and students with the ability to develop their own libraries for documentation and future use.
Course work and testing content can be communicated to remote locations, so students who are not able to perform in the laboratory due to chemical smell sensitivity, pregnancy or allergenic conditions still will be able to receive the benefit of full anatomy instruction with the Anatomage Tables.
To make the transition to digital instruction and learning, the anatomy labs also will be outfitted with state-of-the-art, high-definition cameras to record and project both real-time dissections and digitized representations of the dissection procedures and processes. This material will be transferred to high-resolution monitors mounted in the laboratories.
Providing instruction using the Anatomage Tables integrates well with Life West’s Continuing Education program. The tables will be used to develop curriculum for chiropractors and others in affiliated fields who need to earn CE credits. Future use could include patient education in the clinic and sharing this resource with visiting students who are pursuing STEM occupations.
What’s in a table?
- The Anatomage Tables include a range of features and content:
- Ultra-high quality rendering
- Life-size full body display
- Medical-school-level curriculum
- Compatibility with PACS, or a picture archiving and communication system
- Uploaded and rendered medical scans
- Interactive dissection and annotations
- Gross anatomy content
- Regional anatomy content
- A quiz mode
- Touch-screen features offering an interactive learning experience
- Multiple interactive, clinical, technical and educational functions
Still hands-on
Recognizing that chiropractic will always be primarily a hands-on interaction between chiropractors and patients, it is crucial for students to develop a connection with and deep respect for the human body. To supplement the vast digital representations available through Anatomage Tables, the Anatomy Department will create a video-based project demonstrating the actual dissection of a human cadaver. This project will have three additional but separate and interrelated components. These include recording a complete dissection of a cadaver, creation of a dissection training manual, and creation of computer-based exams.
To update and renew the cadaver instructional experience, the project will also include the acquisition of two additional cadavers as well as five complete sets of cadaver bones. Both additions will provide students with exposure to the variations occurring in organic matter that cannot be duplicated through even the most advanced digitization, which will lead to greater understanding and empathy.
Make a one-time donation or a three-year monthly pledge to help provide the next generation of chiropractors with the most advanced educational tools available. Complete the enclosed donation/pledge card or participate safely and securely online at lifewest.edu.
