Using the principles of interactive cartography to communicate the mechanisms of migraine pain.

The program entitled 'Mapping Migraine Pain' was created based on the principles of interactive cartography to communicate the complexity of the mechanisms of migraine pain. An innovative zoom slider was developed to enhance spatial orientation and comprehension of multiple scales of information from the anatomical to the cellular and molecular levels. Think-aloud protocols were conducted with ten undergraduate first-year medical students to evaluate the significance and usability of the program.

Biomedical communications: collaborative research in scientific visualization, online learning, and knowledge translation.

Collaborative research in biomedical communications investigates the role of visual media in scientific discovery and in patient and health professional education. The spectrum of work is broad and includes the visualization of scientific knowledge and simulation of hypothetical models of health and disease, as well as the design of audience-centered interactive visual media. The work cited supports the notion that research-based visual media can contribute to the core missions of science: discovery, communication, collaboration, and education.

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.

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.

A three-dimensional animation of the classical pathway of the complement cascade.

This paper describes the creation of a three-dimensional animation showing the classical pathway of the complement cascade, made in Studio Strata Pro Blitz (v1.75+) on the Macintosh computer. An analysis of two dimensional depictions of the process from the chapters of current textbooks of immunology revealed inconsistencies; animation was used to demonstrate how these difficulties can be overcome.