Pictured: A digitally reproduced heart floats above a table in the lobby of the JABSOM Biosciences Building at Kaka’ako, as viewed through a cellphone Augmented Reality app.
“The judges were so blown away they asked me to present again…”
By A.J. McWhorter, UH Med Now
A University of Hawaiʻi medical student created a 3-D image of a heart that literally jumped off the surface of her research poster, winning her a top award at the 2017 national meeting of the American College of Physicians (ACP) held in April in San Diego, California. Dr. Trudy Hong, a 2017 graduate of the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), was one of only five overall winners in the ACP National Abstract Research Poster Competition, selected from over 140 medical student finalists.
“I was pretty shocked when they called my name,” said Hong.
Hong used “Augmented Reality” technology in her presentation, producing a detailed image that — when viewed with a cell phone app — “came alive” to illustrate a case of a rare vascular (heart) anomoly. Aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) is present in rare cases at birth, but it usually does not produce any symptoms.
“Using my iPhone, I scanned the image during my presentation to trigger the appearance of this 3D model which I used to describe this common anatomical variant (ARSA) we found in the lab. Very much like Pokémon Go,” said Hong.
