Visualising a rare and complex case of advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

The Toronto Video Atlas of Liver, Pancreas, Biliary, and Transplant Surgery (TVASurg) is a free online library of three-dimensional (3D) animation-enhanced surgical videos, designed to instruct surgical fellows in hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) and transplant procedures. The video 'Klatskin tumours: Extended left hepatectomy with complex portal vein reconstruction and in situ cold perfusion of the liver', which is available to watch at http://TVASurg.ca , is a unique and valuable visual resource for surgeons in training to assist them in learning this rare procedure. This paper describes the methodologies used in producing this 3D animation-enhanced surgical video.

Critical Review of Visual Models for Police Use of Force Decision-Making.

Recent calls for widespread police reform include re-examination of existing training and practice surrounding the use of force (UOF, e.g., verbal and non-verbal communication, physical tactics, firearms). Visual models representing police UOF decision-making are used for both police training and public communication. However, most models have not been empirically developed or assessed in either the applied police or vision science literatures, representing significant gaps in knowledge. The purpose of the current review is to provide a novel, relevant, and practical analysis of the visual components of three common police UOF decision-making model types (circular, cyclical, staircase). We begin with a critical evaluation of the visual features specific to each model type (i.e., shape), followed by critical reviews of common visual features, including colour, implied motion, text, and clarity. The insights provided by the current work afford scientists from visual disciplines a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the improvement of existing police UOF practices, with the goal of promoting public and occupational safety. To this end, we conclude with evidence-based recommendations for designing visual models that effectively promote training of police and communication of police UOF decision-making to the public.

Rethinking enzyme kinetics: Designing and developing a biomolecular interactive tutorial (BIOMINT) learning tool for undergraduate students.

Enzyme kinetics is the study of enzymatic catalytic rates in biochemical reactions. This topic is commonly taught to life science students in introductory biochemistry courses during their undergraduate education. Unlike most other biochemistry topics, which focus on visual structures of biomolecules and their processes, enzyme kinetics is explained primarily through abstract mathematical and two-dimensional graphical plots. However, these abstract/symbolic representations often make it difficult for students to relate the kinetic parameters to the underlying molecular system that is being described. In this article, we present the design and development of a web-based multimedia interactive learning tool, biomolecular interactive tutorials (BIOMINT) to help students better bridge the relationships between these abstract mathematical models and the molecular behaviors, interactions, and dynamics that produce kinetic phenomena. This learning tool can be accessed at https://bit.ly/biomint. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 48(1):74-79, 2020.

Molecular Concepts Adaptive Assessment (MCAA) Characterizes Undergraduate Misconceptions about Molecular Emergence.

This paper discusses the results of two experiments assessing undergraduate students' beliefs about the random nature of molecular environments. Experiment 1 involved the implementation of a pilot adaptive assessment ( n = 773) and focus group discussions with undergraduate students enrolled in first- through third-year biology courses; experiment 2 involved the distribution of the redesigned adaptive assessment to the same population of students in three consecutive years ( n = 1170). The overarching goal of the study was to provide a detailed characterization of learners' perceptions and beliefs regarding molecular agency, environments, and diffusion and whether or not those beliefs change over time. Our results indicated that advanced learners hold as many misconceptions as novice learners and that confidence in their misconceptions increases as they advance through their undergraduate education. In particular, students' understanding of random/Brownian motion is complex and highly contextual, suggesting that the way in which we teach biology does not adequately remediate students' preconceived notions of molecular agency and may actually reinforce them.

Molecular Biology Meets the Learning Sciences: Visualizations in Education and Outreach.

Scientific visualizations (illustrations, three-dimensional models, animations, simulations, etc.) play an essential role in biology education, particularly when it comes to communicating phenomena occurring at the submicroscopic levels, beyond the level of unaided observation and without comparable counterparts at the macroscopic level. Students struggle with understanding the sizes of cells, molecules, and atoms in relation to one another as well as differentiating between the various time scales within which each of these levels is functioning. Visualizations can be powerful tools of intuition, playing a critical role in transforming the way students think about the scientific realm. However, a greater understanding of how the design features and affordances of different visualization modalities support learning is required if we are to provide pedagogically impactful experiences.

Molecular Illustration in Research and Education: Past, Present, and Future.

Two-dimensional illustration is used extensively to study and disseminate the results of structural molecular biology. Molecular graphics methods have been and continue to be developed to address the growing needs of the structural biology community, and there are currently many effective, turn-key methods for displaying and exploring molecular structure. Building on decades of experience in design, best-practice resources are available to guide creation of illustrations that are effective for research and education communities.

Developing a three-dimensional animation for deeper molecular understanding of michaelis-menten enzyme kinetics.

The mathematical models that describe enzyme kinetics are invaluable predictive tools in numerous scientific fields. However, the daunting mathematical language used to describe kinetic behavior can be confusing for life science students; they often struggle to conceptualize and relate the mathematical representations to the molecular phenomena occurring at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. Students with less developed abstract and mathematical thinking skills may benefit from a visual learning approach. The paucity of visual resources for enzyme kinetics makes this a fertile field for developing novel learning media. We discuss developing a three-dimensional animation aimed at introducing key concepts of Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics to undergraduate life science students. This animation uses both realistic and metaphoric depictions of the underlying molecular players, environments, and interactions in enzyme kinetics to contextualize and explain the relationship between the mathematical models and underlying molecular systems. The animation can be viewed at bit.ly/michaelis-menten. © 2018 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 46(5):561-565, 2018.

Depicting surgical anatomy of the porta hepatis in living donor liver transplantation.

Visualizing the complex anatomy of vascular and biliary structures of the liver on a case-by-case basis has been challenging. A living donor liver transplant (LDLT) right hepatectomy case, with focus on the porta hepatis, was used to demonstrate an innovative method to visualize anatomy with the purpose of refining preoperative planning and teaching of complex surgical procedures. The production of an animation-enhanced video consisted of many stages including the integration of pre-surgical planning; case-specific footage and 3D models of the liver and associated vasculature, reconstructed from contrast-enhanced CTs. Reconstructions of the biliary system were modeled from intraoperative cholangiograms. The distribution of the donor portal veins, hepatic arteries and bile ducts was defined from the porta hepatis intrahepatically to the point of surgical division. Each step of the surgery was enhanced with 3D animation to provide sequential and seamless visualization from pre-surgical planning to outcome. Use of visualization techniques such as transparency and overlays allows viewers not only to see the operative field, but also the origin and course of segmental branches and their spatial relationships. This novel educational approach enables integrating case-based operative footage with advanced editing techniques for visualizing not only the surgical procedure, but also complex anatomy such as vascular and biliary structures. The surgical team has found this approach to be beneficial for preoperative planning and clinical teaching, especially for complex cases. Each animation-enhanced video case is posted to the open-access Toronto Video Atlas of Surgery (TVASurg), an education resource with a global clinical and patient user base. The novel educational system described in this paper enables integrating operative footage with 3D animation and cinematic editing techniques for seamless sequential organization from pre-surgical planning to outcome.

Visualizing protein interactions and dynamics: evolving a visual language for molecular animation.

Undergraduate biology education provides students with a number of learning challenges. Subject areas that are particularly difficult to understand include protein conformational change and stability, diffusion and random molecular motion, and molecular crowding. In this study, we examined the relative effectiveness of three-dimensional visualization techniques for learning about protein conformation and molecular motion in association with a ligand-receptor binding event. Increasingly complex versions of the same binding event were depicted in each of four animated treatments. Students (n = 131) were recruited from the undergraduate biology program at University of Toronto, Mississauga. Visualization media were developed in the Center for Molecular and Cellular Dynamics at Harvard Medical School. Stem cell factor ligand and cKit receptor tyrosine kinase were used as a classical example of a ligand-induced receptor dimerization and activation event. Each group completed a pretest, viewed one of four variants of the animation, and completed a posttest and, at 2 wk following the assessment, a delayed posttest. Overall, the most complex animation was the most effective at fostering students' understanding of the events depicted. These results suggest that, in select learning contexts, increasingly complex representations may be more desirable for conveying the dynamic nature of cell binding events.

Interpreting three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional images: a web-based interactive 3D teaching model of surgical liver anatomy.

BACKGROUND: Given the increasing number of indications for liver surgery and the growing complexity of operations, many trainees in surgical, imaging and related subspecialties require a good working knowledge of the complex intrahepatic anatomy. Computed tomography (CT), the most commonly used liver imaging modality, enhances our understanding of liver anatomy, but comprises a two-dimensional (2D) representation of a complex 3D organ. It is challenging for trainees to acquire the necessary skills for converting these 2D images into 3D mental reconstructions because learning opportunities are limited and internal hepatic anatomy is complicated, asymmetrical and variable. We have created a website that uses interactive 3D models of the liver to assist trainees in understanding the complex spatial anatomy of the liver and to help them create a 3D mental interpretation of this anatomy when viewing CT scans. METHODS: Computed tomography scans were imported into DICOM imaging software (OsiriX) to obtain 3D surface renderings of the liver and its internal structures. Using these 3D renderings as a reference, 3D models of the liver surface and the intrahepatic structures, portal veins, hepatic veins, hepatic arteries and the biliary system were created using 3D modelling software (Cinema 4D). RESULTS: Using current best practices for creating multimedia tools, a unique, freely available, online learning resource has been developed, entitled Visual Interactive Resource for Teaching, Understanding And Learning Liver Anatomy (VIRTUAL Liver) (http://pie.med.utoronto.ca/VLiver). This website uses interactive 3D models to provide trainees with a constructive resource for learning common liver anatomy and liver segmentation, and facilitates the development of the skills required to mentally reconstruct a 3D version of this anatomy from 2D CT scans. DISCUSSION: Although the intended audience for VIRTUAL Liver consists of residents in various medical and surgical specialties, the website will also be useful for other health care professionals (i.e. radiologists, nurses, hepatologists, radiation oncologists, family doctors) and educators because it provides a comprehensive resource for teaching liver anatomy.

Improving parents' early recognition and understanding of infant cranial abnormalities through Web-based 2-D animations of 3-D structures.

A prototype Web site, "HeadStart: a craniosynostosis and positional plagiocephaly resource," was developed to help parents of children with cranial abnormalities access information about their child's condition. An on-line survey of 30 parents confirmed the need for information regarding the early diagnosis and treatment of cranial abnormalities. Three methods of creating the illusion of 3-D in a 2-D interactive animation were investigated. The final prototype Web site was developed using a novel approach to rendering 3-D models for use on the Web using a non-photorealistic rendering technique which emulated a hand-drawn appearance. Many advantages were found when creating 2-D animations based on 3-D files. A formative evaluation with parents revealed that the 3-D feature added to their understanding of cranial structures and led to a more complete understanding of their child's condition. Although the small sample size limits the ability to generalize about the success of including 3-D elements in educational programs, the research demonstrated that involving parents in the development process was successful in prioritizing the program content to fit with their needs.

Development and evaluation of sentinel node biopsy: a continuing professional development course.

The Interpretive Visualization (IVIS) Group at the Division of Biomedical Communications, Dept. of Surgery, University of Toronto has developed a visually-oriented, Internet-based Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course on Sentinel Node Biopsy. The site design methodology involved an extensive needs assessment, iterative formative evaluations of site and media design, a summative evaluation of the project, and a final evaluation for certification. Special emphasis was placed on asynchronous Web-based evaluation of the visual media-including still images, animations, and interactive figures-used in the course. Results reinforced the importance of: needs assessment; a user-centered design process; and rapid prototyping.