Newswise — Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Department of Radiology donated more than 1,000 medical images to the Museum of Science and Industry for use in YOU! The Experience, a new 15,000-square-foot permanent exhibit that showcases the connection between mind, body and spirit. Nearly 90 percent of the images used in the medical imaging portion of the exhibit were from Stritch’s donation. These include radiographs (x-rays), computed tomography (CTs), ultrasound images, mammograms, magnetic resonance (MRIs), nuclear medicine images, and postprocessed 3D data sets.
Touch-screens in the medical-imaging area of the exhibit allow guests to choose which of the various images they want to view. They can see the difference between a healthy and unhealthy organ, see a fetus at different stages of development, observe complex body systems and gain an insider’s view of what happens when a bone breaks.
Instrumental in collecting the images were Dr. Terrence C. Demos, professor, Department of Radiology, and Dr. Arcot Chandrasekhar, professor, Department of Medicine.
“We do over 280,000 imaging studies each year here at Loyola. The Museum needed images that would be of benefit to the public to promote awareness about new medical-imaging technology and to help them learn more about the workings of their bodies. We perused images, choosing the ones we felt would be of greatest interest, understandable and most meaningful to people visiting the exhibit,” said Demos.
Stemming from Loyola’s Catholic-Jesuit heritage, the promotion of education, especially medical education, is paramount to the institution. This commitment is exemplified by the Loyola University Medical Education Network (LUMEN), where many of the exhibit’s images were gleaned. Stritch physicians and faculty, including Drs. Chandrasekhar and Demos, have contributed to LUMEN, making it an extensive educational Web site that receives more than 190 million hits a year and a vital component of sharing medical knowledge with medical students and beyond.
“We believe in educational philanthropy here at Loyola,” said Chandrasekhar. “It is wonderful that we can share these images that show different ways of looking at the body using a variety of technologies.”
“The Museum is so grateful to the Stritch School of Medicine Department of Radiology for this generous donation of time and imagery,” said Dr. Patricia Ward, director of science and technology at the Museum of Science and Industry. “These images are invaluable teaching tools for our guests, and allow them to understand the complexity of the human body, and the amazing power of medical technology, in a entirely new way.”
“The exhibit is called YOU, and what images a person finds impacting or important will depend on who they are. The great thing about this exhibit is that it allows each individual to experience it in a different and unique way,” said Chandrasekhar.
“The idea is to stimulate museum guests to know more,” said Demos. “Our hope is that by looking at these images people will become engaged and get inspired to learn more about themselves and about medicine.”
The medical imaging portion of YOU! The Experience is the newest educational partnership between Stritch and the Museum of Science and Industry that dates back to the 1930s and the prenatal development exhibit, which has also been reinterpreted for the YOU! exhibit in an area called Your Beginning.
About YOU! The Experience YOU! The Experience, opened Oct. 8, 2009 in the Museum of Science and Industry’s Abbott Hall as one of the largest and most comprehensive exhibits on human health and wellness.With more than 50 fun and interactive stations, the exhibit showcases the extraordinary workings of our bodies, the choices we make, the environment in which we live, and the role of medical technology. The exhibit is made possible through the generosity of Abbott; the Abbott Fund, the philanthropic foundation of Abbott; and the Pritzker Foundation. Additional major funding provided by J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family, Mazza Foundation, and Robert S. and Susan E. Morrison. For more information about the exhibit and the Musuem, visit www.msichicago.org. Loyola University Health SystemBased in the western suburbs of Chicago, Loyola University Health System is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and 25 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 561-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-bed community hospital, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness and the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center.
RSS