The Neonatal Heart: An Interactive Educational Program

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Based on the results of Phase I, we have 4 aims. The first is the creation of new neonatal/fetal heart models, animations and video from unique data sets and sources including the cardiac conductive system. The second will be to create a multilevel user interface designed to allow users from the surgeon to the patient's family access to content tailored to their level of understanding. The third is the design of an evaluation document to test and refine this multilevel teaching tool and assess its value as compared to conventional teaching and learning methods. The fourth is to create 5 interactive educational multimedia programs on 5 major congenital heart conditions and their relationship to the cardiac conduction system (CCS). The intended audiences are: medical students who need to understand the detailed anatomy, embryology and physiology of the human heart; cardiothoracic residents who need clinical correlations of precise, detailed anatomy and pathophysiology, with operative video of VSD surgical repair. The content is intended for use by clinicians or other health care workers who need to explain to a lay audience, the underlying congenital pathophysiology of CCS/Congenital heart defects, what the surgical procedure entails, and how it will correct the condition. The programs are also designed for use by a lay audience, following a different navigational pathway. The programs will be delivered on compact disk (CD) and Digital Video Disk (DVD). Design criteria will include standards to support web-based delivery in anticipation of Internet II.