%0 Journal Article
%T Play dough as an educational tool for visualization of complicated cerebral aneurysm anatomy
%A Behzad Eftekhar
%A Mohammad Ghodsi
%A Ebrahim Ketabchi
%A Arman Ghazvini
%J BMC Medical Education
%D 2005
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6920-5-15
%X We have presented the use of play dough as an adjunct to the teaching armamentarium for training in visualization of cerebral aneurysms in some cases.The advantages of play dough are low cost, availability and simplicity of use, being more efficient and realistic in training the less experienced resident in comparison with the simple drawings and even angiographic views from different angles without the need for computers and similar equipment. The disadvantages include the psychological resistance of residents to the use of something in surgical training that usually is considered to be a toy, and not being as clean as drawings or computerized images.Although technology and computerized software using the patients' own imaging data seems likely to become more advanced in the future, use of play dough in some complicated cerebral aneurysm cases may be helpful in 3D reconstruction of the real situation.Imagination of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of cerebral vascular lesions using two-dimensional (2D) angiograms is one of the skills that neurosurgical residents should achieve during their training. Although ongoing progress in computer software and digital imaging systems has facilitated viewing and interpretation of cerebral angiograms significantly, the 2D nature of these images makes them still far from ideal. These facilities are not always readily available in many situations. Much of the actual mastering is achieved experientially through work on cadavers or in operating theatres.Three-dimensional models made from materials such as wax, bronze and ivory have been used in the teaching of medicine for many centuries.It is thought that the first three-dimensional model of the vascular tree was created by a follower of Mondino de'Luzzi in the 14th century. Molten wax was injected into the vascular system, forming a cast that was carefully dissected out from the surrounding tissue [1,2]. In the 17th and 18th centuries artists such as Ercole Lelli (1702¨C1766)
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/5/15