Goa Medical College and Hospital has introduced an Anatomage Table, a three-dimensional virtual anatomy and digital dissection platform aimed at strengthening anatomy education for medical students and healthcare professionals.
The life-size, touchscreen system uses digitised human cadavers and medical imaging data to allow users to examine anatomical structures through virtual dissection. It enables structures to be viewed layer by layer and from different planes.
The platform will supplement conventional anatomy teaching, including cadaveric dissection. According to GMC's nodal officer for IT and e-governance, Dr Dhaval Faterpenkar, the system will allow students to repeatedly study complex anatomical structures and understand their three-dimensional relationships.
The technology can also be used beyond undergraduate anatomy classes. GMC said it has applications in postgraduate medical education and clinical disciplines including surgery, radiology, orthopaedics, neurosurgery and ENT.
The college's Department of Anatomy currently caters to around 600 students in an academic year, including students from medicine, dentistry, nursing and allied health sciences, as well as postgraduate students in anatomy and other programmes. The department already uses information technology and integrated teaching methods covering topographic, microscopic, developmental, radiological and clinical anatomy.
The new platform is being added to that existing infrastructure rather than replacing conventional dissection. Its digital format also allows students to revisit anatomical structures without the limitations associated with physical specimens.
The development follows another technology-focused addition at GMC earlier this month. On August 17, the college opened an advanced medical simulation centre equipped with high-fidelity patient simulators, full-body mannequins, VR-based simulation systems, ultrasound and diagnostic simulators, and facilities for surgical and critical-care training.
