Plastinated instructional assets utilization during collaborative online head and neck anatomy in the medical educational curriculum

Collaborative online anatomy education has become increasingly utilized due to a trend toward student-centered independent learning, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic limiting in-person group activities. Anatomy education is heavily reliant on visuotactile experience and presents a challenge during online instruction. In an effort to provide an effective experience, the Head and Neck block (Fall Semester, 2020) was presented as an online activity that included extended reality anatomy models derived from three-dimensional medical illustrations (artistic), dissections, plastinates, and segmentations, and posted on the Sketchfab platform for student viewing. The purpose of this study was to assess student preference of anatomical models during online anatomy instruction. A photogrammetry workflow was developed to digitize the dissected and plastinated specimens that were posted to the sketchfab.com platform and presented via a secured university-based website hosting service (xrcore.jabsom.hawaii.edu). Segmented models were derived from MRI cadaveric scans, and artistic models were created based on segmented graphics primitives that are defined as nondivisible graphical elements, such as planes or spheres, for input or output within a computer-graphics system. Technical requirements were minimal and relied on several open-source or limited subscription software packages. Accession was recorded and compared using a chi-square analysis. A comparison of the preference of the models was conducted using student surveys (n = 79). When compared to all learning resources, actual dissections were most preferred (34.1%). However, plastinated models were considered most/more preferred (54.3%) compared to other assets suggesting a broader preference as a learning resource. These results suggest that plastinated models are effective and engaging tools for the instruction of gross anatomy for medical students.