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Application of 3D Printing and WebGL-Based 3D Visualisation Technology in Imaging Teaching of Ankle Joints

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Abstract

With the rapid development of medical technology, 3D printing technology with realistic representation can perfectly display static human anatomy, while 3D visualisation technology based on Web Graphics Library (WebGL) can promote the rigid replication characteristics of traditional teaching models and express the dynamic spatial relationship between different anatomical structures. Medical students traditionally have less cognition of ankle ligament sprains. In this study, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of the ankle joints of volunteers were used to print models of the ankle bone, tendon, and ligament using 3D printing technology, and a real-time interactive 3D digital model of the functional ankle joint was designed using 3D visualisation based on WebGL and 2D image real-time rendering technology for interactive teaching. The utility of the 3D printing model combined with the WebGL-based 3D digital teaching model was evaluated in comparison with traditional teaching methods in 24 medical students. The results showed that the total score of students in the experimental group (mean ± SD, 79.48 ± 12.93) was significantly better than that of the control group (61.00 ± 14.94) with P < 0.05. The practical test scores of the experimental group (18.00 ± 2.70) were significantly higher than those of the control group (13.67 ± 4.96) with P < 0.05. In the satisfaction survey, the feedback questionnaire showed that the interactive teaching model of 3D printing technology combined with WebGL-based 3D visualisation technology was recognised by students in terms of quality and overall satisfaction. In addition, female students who used 3D printing combined with WebGL-based 3D visualisation technology as learning aids had a greater difference in practical test scores from the control group than male students. This study has demonstrated that the interactive teaching mode of 3D printing combined with WebGL-based 3D visualisation technology is beneficial to the teaching of medical imaging, enriching the learning experience of students, and increasing the interaction between teachers and students.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank CHANG Dexiao and BEN Haixuan for manual segmentation of the CT/MRI datasets.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, China

    Xiaomin Li  (李小敏), Xiaoqing Dai  (戴晓庆), Jiuhong Guo  (郭久红), Yang Qu  (曲扬), Bing Wu  (吴兵), Siyu Liu  (柳思宇) & Songtao Ai  (艾松涛)

  2. Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200065, China

    Daqian Wan  (万大千)

Authors
  1. Xiaomin Li  (李小敏)
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  2. Xiaoqing Dai  (戴晓庆)
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  3. Jiuhong Guo  (郭久红)
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  4. Yang Qu  (曲扬)
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  5. Bing Wu  (吴兵)
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  6. Siyu Liu  (柳思宇)
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  7. Daqian Wan  (万大千)
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  8. Songtao Ai  (艾松涛)
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Daqian Wan  (万大千) or Songtao Ai  (艾松涛).

Additional information

Foundation item: the Clinical Research Plan of SHDC (No. SHDC2020CR3083B), the Technology Project of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (Nos. 19441902700, and 18441903100), and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission — Gaofeng Clinical Medicine Grant Support (No. 20152221)

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Li, X., Dai, X., Guo, J. et al. Application of 3D Printing and WebGL-Based 3D Visualisation Technology in Imaging Teaching of Ankle Joints. J. Shanghai Jiaotong Univ. (Sci.) 26, 319–324 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12204-021-2299-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12204-021-2299-z

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