SimVascular as an instructional tool in the classroom

SimVascular is an open source software platform for cardiovascular simulation, providing a complete pipeline from medical image data to volumetric model construction, meshing, and blood flow simulation. Previous workshops and educational programs have utilized SimVascular, but learning assessments have not been used to rigorously quantify gains in conceptual understanding. Goal: The purpose of this study is to assess the learning of students enrolled in graduate engineering courses at two different institutions (Purdue University and Stanford University) who used SimVascular to perform image-based blood flow modeling projects as part of a course. Methods: Twenty-two engineering and medical students were given both pre- and post-assessments to quantify their initial familiarity and eventual progress learning computational techniques for biomedical blood flow simulations. The students rated their agreement with eleven different statements. Results: Initial responses were relatively low, suggesting that there was substantial room for student learning. Students then utilized the SimVascular platform to run multiple hemodynamic blood flow simulations. The post-assessment showed a significant increase in agreement with all 11 statements (p<;0.05). Conclusion: These initial efforts demonstrate the effectiveness of SimVascular as a teaching tool in a classroom setting.