Healthcare E-Learning Ecosystem for the Use of Ultrasound in Interventional Procedures

Abstract

Ultrasound imaging (USI) has become a disruptive element in medicine. To achieve a safer USI application, professionals need sound practical training. This chapter presents the keynotes in the development of a teaching-learning ecosystem, where students (future specialist physicians) and teachers participate, with the concrete educational contents. The ecosystem is supported by a LMS that includes recourses and activities for collaboration, implemented by a multidisciplinary team of health and ICT experts. Practical skills are acquired through a computer-based simulator for the training of the USI-based interventional procedures that the student can handle autonomously at any time and is highly realistic. As a main result, the ecosystem is applied to a real experience, focusing on the treatment of spasticity by botulinum toxin infiltration. Learning outcomes have been evaluated through academic grades and a survey of students who have participated in a specialist course.