MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Mississippi State University-Meridian’s Riley campus has received some digital cadavers through the Health Resources and Sciences Administrative Building Grant.
Dr. James Kilgore, an Associate Professor with the Physician Assistant Studies Program, said the digital cadavers give students the ability to study the human anatomy virtually.
“We received 10 tables. Roughly about 100,000 dollars apiece and these have the capabilities of being used in a multitude of different ways. It’s literally like a computer program that’s 3D or three-dimensional. It allows you to move the cadavers around. You can look at specific parts of the body very closely. That really helps you when you actually go to operate or to see a real patient because you’ve seen it up close and personal. You can literally see into the body with these 3-D models,” said Dr. Kilgore.
Right now, the university’s new Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program is able to use the digital cadavers to improve student learning.
“Well, the PA profession is one that is growing really fast. It’s the number two profession in the country right now. We have about 250 applicants to our program of which 90 were chosen, the most competitive. We have a class right now of 31 that just came in. For us to be able to get a million-dollar grant to provide anatomy labs for our students it really enhances their learning experience. So, we feel it’s something that gives Mississippi State a little bit of an advantage because not every program has this,” said Dr. Kilgore.
Merwin Moore is one student that said the new tech in these labs makes this program very unique and believes learning with these digital cadavers will be a great benefit.
“Right off the bat, these are full scans of actual bodies, so they are very detailed. The nice thing about over using a cadaver is once you cut a cadaver it’s one and done. Over time they lose all their color, so it gets harder to differentiate what it is that you are looking at which is hard when you’re doing a practical and things are pinned. This covers everything between anatomy and even physiology. They have actual conditions you can look at, like a CT scan, so it’s a lot of options you have. As well as dissect them in any way you would like,” said Moore.
The HRSA grant, totaling almost one-million dollars, is also being used to purchase additional examination tables for patient assessment.
The grant funding will also be used to design a simulation lab on the third floor of the Rosenbaum building for inter-professional clinical healthcare programs.
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