Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title Research with impact: A heartbeat away from wellness. Country/Territory Australia Date 5/08/21 Description A heartbeat away from wellness
Dr Lee Chooi Yeng
5 August 2021
Like many downloadable applications (app), 'HeARtbeat' is an educational tool that realistically portrays a beating heart in its normal and abnormal state known as atrial fibrillation — the latter referring to irregular heartbeats and heart rhythms. The development of the tool was initiated by Monash University Malaysia and extended to the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and Monash University in Australia. The research was led by Dr Lee Chooi Yeng, senior lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, and Professor Kevin Moffat of the School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick.
HeARtbeat can be effortlessly installed on smartphones and tablets, allowing users to observe a beating heart through the device's camera view. Users can interact with the heart model in real-time while navigating the app's content for information related to anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and clinical application.
The App
"Our dedication to continuously improving teaching effectiveness and students' learning experiences lead to the development of the app," Dr Lee shared.
Pharmacy and Biomedical Science students from Monash University Malaysia and the University of Warwick have uniformly commented that the underlying causes of atrial fibrillation and its treatments, as compared to other heart diseases, are the most difficult to comprehend.
"The complexity of atrial fibrillation, which requires more than just reading and imagination to understand, is likely the cause of the challenges faced by students. That also shows we need a novel and creative way to teach complex subjects," acknowledged Dr Lee.
Technology matters
Academics are encouraged to apply innovation to their teaching — a reason why technology is being widely used these days to complement existing teaching and learning activities. Dr Lee asserts that it is pivotal for academics to examine what learning aspects they want to achieve with a specific technology and how it is relevant even before implementation. "It is only when the purpose of the use is clear that we can fully utilise a technology to address educational needs," she stressed.
AR provides an opportunity to convert complex knowledge into engaging, interactive and immersive learning content, given its unique features of integrating digital information with the user's environment.
As Pharmacy is a health professional degree program, the interest of healthcare providers and patients was taken into account during the development of HeARtbeat. The app contains information that meets patient education needs.
Testimony speaks
Initial surveys conducted by the research team revealed that HeARtbeat, developed with specific aims, was well received by students. Monash Pharmacy students remarked that the novelty, the realistic heart model, and easy-to-understand content had improved their learning. Warwick Biomedical Science students, on the other hand, thought that the visualisation and the learning design of the app would encourage its use.
The app has drawn interest from cardiologists and patients. The former acknowledged that HeARtbeat would be able to help patients by improving their adherence to medications and treatment outcomes, stating that they welcomed an approach that contributes to the education and patient awareness of a disease and disease treatments.
As evidenced above, HeARtbeat helps support interdisciplinary teaching and learning and serve various industries and stakeholders. The Alliance Education Fund currently funds the project.
Next steps?
"We want to expand the scope of the work and secure sustainable funding. We welcome researchers, educators as well as those in the healthcare sectors who are interested in exploring this exciting learning space to get in touch with us," Dr Lee said.
'HeARtbeat' was awarded a Gold medal in the 31st International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2020) held in Kuala Lumpur. Dr Lee was awarded the Best Women Inventor Award in the same event. These awards are the latest recognition of her contribution to teaching and education.Persons Lee Chooi Yeng