Pandemic-era learning: Anatomy Next launches Anatomy.app

Anatomy Next, a digital health startup focused on medical education, is launching Anatomy.app, an online digital anatomy training platform – catering to medical students, students in the health professions, and medical educational institutions. 

Remote learning made interactive

Marking a year since we entered the Covid19 pandemic, the need for effective digital tools for remote learning has grown faster than ever. Students of medicine, dentistry and all the health professions must still master complex subjects like human anatomy, but without the support of conventional, experience-based methods such as cadaver dissection in the era of remote learning. Anatomy.app helps bridge the knowledge gap.

“The advantage of Anatomy.app is its object-oriented approach, which encourages interactive study and learning. The platform parallels the hands-on learning experienced in actual dissection. Complex anatomical structures and relationships that are normally concealed become accessible with the help of realistic, interactive 3D models. Anatomy.app also enables students self-testing, which builds confidence and facilitates mastery of this material.” says Prof. Teodoro Forcht Dagi, a Professor at Queen’s University Belfast, Consultant to the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, a Director of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and a Director of Anatomy Next.

Blending B2C & B2B

The main focus of Anatomy Next is a subscription-based product targeting medical, dental, nursing and physiotherapy students. For a small monthly fee, users have access to highly accurate, interactive digital 3D human anatomy models, as well as brief and relevant accompanying articles and the ability to test themselves on Anatomy.app. Anatomy Next’s second product theme is tailoring the platform for the needs of educational institutions through course-specific content that can be incorporated into the curriculum and help make teaching anatomy easier.

“The amount of medical knowledge required to be an up-to-date specialist keeps growing even as  the duration of medical studies and speciality training remains the same. Optimizing the learning process, therefore, is more important than ever. Our goal is to assist educational institutions in providing the best possible education by enabling and supporting optimal learning methods, and facilitating guided independent learning. Our solution keeps the teaching institution at the center of the teaching process, but allows students to learn in ways that are best for them,” explains Uldis Zarins, the CEO and Founder of Anatomy Next.

Positive impact on studies

The launch follows several successful pilot test runs, including with the University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry where Anatomy.app proved to be a helpful tool for pandemic-era remote teaching and learning. The School used a course-specific application designed by Anatomy Next during their 2020 summer course of Dental Anatomy.

“Due to the pandemic, traditional in-person class was not possible and 110 students heavily relied on the app for their education,” say Andrea Pobocik and Hera Kim-Berman, both professors at the University of Michigan’s School of Dentistry. “The visual guide is a good resource for online education and for self-paced study. The students used and benefited from this application during the dental anatomy course.”

Detailed and accessible insights

Radiological examinations data (from CTs, CTAs, and MRIs) form the basis for Anatomy Next’s 3D models. A multi-disciplinary in-house team of medical professionals, 3D digital artists, and designers render the digital anatomical models and convert them to interactive illustrations. Color-coded objects rotate and show annotations of the anatomical landmarks along with concise articles that make the platform user-friendly, informative and easy to operate.

“We’ve spent almost five years developing this product – thousands of hours dedicated to market research and understanding student needs, studying anatomy, creating digital visualizations, and visiting universities in Europe and North America to understand their needs, collect their feedback and to improve our product. I am very happy that we can officially launch the product today. It would not have been possible without our early users, particularly the University of Washington and Riga Stradins University (RSU), and their helpful feedback, as well as my great team of experts.” shares Dr. Reinis Jansons, the Chief Medical Officer at Anatomy Next.

The Rector of RSU, Professor Aigars Petersons sees the collaboration with Anatomy Next as a part of the broader strategy for the University’s growth. “The long-term development strategy of RSU outlines an expanded digitalization of both studying and work processes. Over the last few years, we have introduced a number of new learning solutions, which allow future doctors and medical specialists to learn anatomy with up-to-date and interactive methods. We are truly pleased with the close collaboration between RSU and Anatomy Next to make the latest technologies available to our students.”

Anatomy.app is now available for purchase and use. It offers monthly, annual and lifetime subscriptions. 

Anatomy Next is a digital health company that deploys high-quality digital 3D anatomy models to create robust education tools. Anatomy.app and the online encyclopedia Anatomy.net help students learn human anatomy. "Anatomy for Sculptors" handbooks are bestsellers among artists worldwide looking to better understand the human form. Anatomy Next Inc. was founded in 2015 and comprises a multi-disciplinary team of medical and anatomy experts, professional artists, 3D designers, and other specialists.