Digital enhancement of haematoxylin- and eosin-stained histological images for red-green colour-blind observers.

Individuals with red-green colour-blindness (CB) commonly experience great difficulty differentiating between certain histological stain pairs, notably haematoxylin-eosin (H&E). The prevalence of red-green CB is high (6-10% of males), including among medical and laboratory personnel, and raises two major concerns: first, accessibility and equity issues during the education and training of individuals with this disability, and second, the likelihood of errors in critical tasks such as interpreting histological images. Here we show two methods to enhance images of H&E-stained samples so the differently stained tissues can be well discriminated by red-green CBs while remaining usable by people with normal vision. Method 1 involves rotating and stretching the range of H&E hues in the image to span the perceptual range of the CB observers. Method 2 digitally unmixes the original dyes using colour deconvolution into two separate images and repositions the information into hues that are more distinctly perceived. The benefits of these methods were tested in 36 volunteers with normal vision and 11 with red-green CB using a variety of H&E stained tissue sections paired with their enhanced versions. CB subjects reported they could better perceive the different stains using the enhanced images for 85% of preparations (method 1: 90%, method 2: 73%), compared to the H&E-stained original images. Many subjects with normal vision also preferred the enhanced images to the original H&E. The results suggest that these colour manipulations confer considerable advantage for those with red-green colour vision deficiency while not disadvantaging people with normal colour vision.

The academic environment: the students' perspective.

Dental education is regarded as a complex, demanding and often stressful pedagogical procedure. Undergraduates, while enrolled in programmes of 4-6 years duration, are required to attain a unique and diverse collection of competences. Despite the major differences in educational systems, philosophies, methods and resources available worldwide, dental students' views regarding their education appear to be relatively convergent. This paper summarizes dental students' standpoint of their studies, showcases their experiences in different educational settings and discusses the characteristics of a positive academic environment. It is a consensus opinion that the 'students' perspective' should be taken into consideration in all discussions and decisions regarding dental education. Moreover, it is suggested that the set of recommendations proposed can improve students' quality of life and well-being, enhance their total educational experience and positively influence their future careers as oral health physicians. The 'ideal' academic environment may be defined as one that best prepares students for their future professional life and contributes towards their personal development, psychosomatic and social well-being. A number of diverse factors significantly influence the way students perceive and experience their education. These range from 'class size', 'leisure time' and 'assessment procedures' to 'relations with peers and faculty', 'ethical climate' and 'extra-curricular opportunities'. Research has revealed that stress symptoms, including psychological and psychosomatic manifestations, are prevalent among dental students. Apparently some stressors are inherent in dental studies. Nevertheless, suggested strategies and preventive interventions can reduce or eliminate many sources of stress and appropriate support services should be readily available. A key point for the Working Group has been the discrimination between 'teaching' and 'learning'. It is suggested that the educational content should be made available to students through a variety of methods, because individual learning styles and preferences vary considerably. Regardless of the educational philosophy adopted, students should be placed at the centre of the process. Moreover, it is critical that they are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. Other improvements suggested include increased formative assessment and self-assessment opportunities, reflective portfolios, collaborative learning, familiarization with and increased implementation of information and communication technology applications, early clinical exposure, greater emphasis on qualitative criteria in clinical education, community placements, and other extracurricular experiences such as international exchanges and awareness of minority and global health issues. The establishment of a global network in dental education is firmly supported but to be effective it will need active student representation and involvement.

Dental undergraduate expectations and opinions of Web-based courseware to supplement traditional teaching methods.

The rapid growth of Internet for the delivery of information has enabled teaching materials to be placed on websites allowing student access to course material. It is the aim of this paper to evaluate a cohort of dental undergraduate students who have used Web-based courseware in prosthetic dentistry for a semester. A questionnaire was distributed to clinical undergraduate students prior to the use of the prosthetics course to determine their experience of using the World Wide Web (WWW) and their expectations of an online course. A second questionnaire was distributed at the end of 6 months which asked about their usage and opinions of the prosthetics Web-based courseware. The main concerns raised at the beginning of the course were related to computer access, the ability to use computers, the time involved and their conception that the e-course would be an additional burden. The main potential benefits were perceived to be convenience, availability of information and the ability to reinforce or catch up on aspects of the module they did not understand or had missed. Feedback at the end of the year showed that most students had accessed the Web-based courseware site at least once a month and, generally, their comments were favourable, dispelling some of the initial perceived fears. They felt that the website was a quick and convenient way to access information and was a good additional resource. Access to the site and printing information were the main problems raised by the students who had to use a shared cluster. In conclusion, Web-based courseware was felt to be a useful additional resource for students. However, this research showed that sufficient computers and printers must be available for such a resource to become an integrated part of the dental course.

Development and evaluation of a stand-alone web-based CAL program. A case study.

The use of web browser technology allows the construction of computer-aided learning programs which will have a familiar interface to dentists. This paper reports on the evaluation of a web-based CAL program which covered the topic of tooth wear with an emphasis on the rôle of erosion in its aetiology. Evaluation of the software was made by 50 dentists contacted by an electronic mailing list. They completed a questionnaire which evaluated aspects of the functionality of the program educational objectives. The average age of the dentists was 39 years (range 24-70) and 82% were male. The average time of use was 1 h 10 min (range 15 min to 3 h). A significant change in their knowledge of tooth wear before and after using the program was recorded. Both the use of patient cases and leaflets scored highly with other aspects such as treatment planning and patient advice receiving high marks. All dentists commented that they had gained greater knowledge with particular reference to treatment and advice of tooth wear problems. 34 dentists (68%) found the web interface easy to use. Negative comments were mainly attributed to the quality of the pictures (4/50) which were corrected in the final release version. Respondents were asked to compare the program to other educational media on the same subject. 80% rated this CAL program as better than video, and 14% claimed it was as good as video. 84% rated it better than books, and 14% said it was as good as books. 98% preferred it to audio tapes and 86% preferred it to journals. The average amount that they would pay for a CAL package such as "tooth wear" would be 42 ECU. It is concluded that web browser software is a suitable medium for the use of a CAL program and this is reflected in its ease of use by dentists.