Newswise — Durham, NC and Irvine, Calif., Sept 15, 2015 — The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine has agreed to use web-based digital whole slide imaging developed by MAggPI in the teaching of medical students. In this collaboration, diagnostic-quality, expert-curated digital images of normal and diseased tissue will be incorporated in the teaching of histology and pathology to medical students at UCI.
MAggPI develops platform-independent, cloud-based methods of storing, easily viewing, and annotating digital whole slide images to improve healthcare and pathology education. MAggPI is building a “Massive Aggregation of Pathology Information” to expand access to pathology in underserved areas and improve/enhance primary and continuing medical education.
UCI School of Medicine created the iMedEd initiative, an innovative digital-based educational platform used in classroom and clinical training. The university’s use of this technology is expected to facilitate student learning and collaboration and result in improved understanding of the pathologic diagnosis of disease.
“UCI School of Medicine has pioneered the use of new technologies in the classroom and clinical settings,” said Anjen Chenn, MD, PhD, founder and CEO of MAggPI. “Their students and faculty have developed novel technologies to improve healthcare and medical education worldwide. We believe this arrangement is the first to utilize annotatable diagnostic-quality whole-slide digital images in medical school teaching of histology and pathology.”
“The ability to view and annotate high-quality whole slide images of normal and abnormal tissues will greatly facilitate the interactive teaching of histology and pathology,” said Robert Edwards, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology & Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, and Chairman, Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee at UCI School of Medicine. “The MAggPI platform will enable our students to access these resources 24/7 and get input from other students and faculty.”
About MAggPIMAggPI, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation that develops and supports open-source digital technology to improve healthcare and medical education throughout the world. Pathologists are essential for the accurate diagnosis of many diseases, but training of pathologists requires access to high quality teachers and curated case materials. To address challenges in pathologic diagnosis of disease, MAggPI provides long-distance teaching materials and a growing collection of pathologist-curated digital images, the Massive Aggregation of Pathology Information, accessible freely through the web. For more information, visit http://maggpi.org or email [email protected]
About the University of California, IrvineCurrently celebrating its 50th anniversary, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $4.8 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.