Touch-screen table allows students to perform ‘virtual dissections’ in Cooper Library

Clemson students can experience some hands-on, high-tech education in anatomy in physiology thanks to a partnership between the Clemson School of Nursing and Clemson Libraries.

A touch-screen “virtual dissection table” – called an Anatomage Table – is now available for students and faculty to use in the Scholars’ Lab located in room 413 of the R.M. Cooper Library. The table belongs to the School of Nursing, and the partnership to host the table in the Scholars’ Lab will make it more accessible and available to students and faculty across the University. As the new home of the Libraries’ data visualization tools and expertise, the Scholars’ Lab is the perfect place for a table that is designed to allow students to visualize the inner workings of the human body.

“The School of Nursing is committed to health innovation, interprofessional collaboration, academic excellence, and promoting wellness within our community,” said Kimberly Hill, associate director for simulation for the School of Nursing. “The Anatomage table offers an interactive and unique anatomy and physiology experience that we desire to share with our Clemson University family. It is our hope that sharing this resource will support and inspire collaboration between a diverse group of healthcare professionals from various disciplines and generate new research that enhances the quality of life for our community. We are thankful to Clemson Libraries for supporting the students and faculty as they learn to navigate the Anatomage table and creatively utilize it in their course or research.”

“Our mission is to support Clemson students, faculty and staff who want to use new digital research tools or methods. The 3D Anatomage Table is more of an instructional tool than a research tool, but it is a great example of data visualization in action, and we are happy to support the School of Nursing by increasing access to this table,” said Megan Sheffield, director of the Scholars’ Lab and data services librarian.

The table includes 3-D scans of actual human cadavers that users can manipulate using the touch screen to view different angles and different layers. Users can zoom in through the skin, muscle, bone and organ tissue or view different systems individually, such as the vascular, nervous or skeletal systems.

The table also includes several animal modules, making it possible for users to view the anatomy of several species of animals, such as dogs, cats, a variety of bird species, turtles, fish and sharks.

“By moving it to the Scholars’ Lab, the table is accessible to people from other departments (such as Biological Sciences or Animal and Veterinary Sciences) who may have never otherwise come across it,” Sheffield said.

Faculty can book time to hold classes or group sessions using the table by contacting Sheffield at msheff@clemson.edu, and the table is available for students to use on a first-come, first-served basis when the Scholars’ Lab is open, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.