Developing and Marketing Image-Based Instruction in Medicine

	Dr. Michael Astion (left) works with Adam Orkand, group manager, and Janet Curtis, senior computer specialist, to create the Tutor educational software series.

In just eight years, an educational multimedia software project developed by the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine has grown from a concept to an essential tool for clinical laboratories and medical technology programs worldwide.

Known as Laboratory-Tutors, these computer-based programs teach how to interpret clinical laboratory tests that are based on microscope and other medical images. Each program offers interconnected lessons with high quality, annotated images plus a self-examination program so students can evaluate their progress in learning the material.

Available on disks and CD-ROMs, these lessons on topics such as urinalysis, microscopy, and electrophoresis are purchased by medical schools and medical professionals. The software is licensed through the UW's Office of Technology Transfer to medical publishers and other corporate vendors who distribute the software internationally.

Making It Happen

"It became clear to us that we could develop computer-based educational materials that would be superior to any print atlases then available," remembers Astion.

The Laboratory-Tutors series includes images as seen through the microscope (above and bottom right) as well as original graphic illustrations (top right).

Over the years, Astion and his team have developed a systematic approach to creating new programs in the Tutors series. They bring together programmers, artists, and topic experts and put together a 36-week production schedule. The detailed plan includes who the product is aimed at, how it will work, and what it will do. Work often begins with collecting large numbers of images of clinical specimens.

"We create all of our own content, including the images," says Astion. "Our experts are quite finicky about what they will accept, and we learned that it is easier to do our own images and graphics rather than try to acquire them from outside."

Building a Reputation

	Microscopy, urinalysis, peripheral blood, and parasites are four of the subjects in the Laboratory-Tutors series.

Now that the Tutors series is well known, things are different. "We have a reputation in our field," says Astion. "We have a dedicated group of clients who are interested in new programs we put out."

Recently, the usual sales to individual physicians, clinical laboratories, and medical technology programs have been supplemented by large bulk sales. Beckman Instruments, for example, purchased a license to distribute the Electrophoresis-Tutor to help market and support its electrophoresis equipment.

"Thanks to our bulk sales, you probably couldn't find a medical technology program in this country that does not have our software," says Astion. "This gives us academic clout. The ANA-Tutor, which teaches the antinuclear antibody test, has helped hundreds of labs improve their autoantibody testing. It's a great way to spread the UW lab medicine name."

Astion says the beauty of the Tutors project is that it is "solidly within the bounds of the University of Washington's mission. High quality research has created valuable information; a well designed educational product has been developed and is being marketed worldwide, and the revenue that it yields comes back to the UW."