Alternatives Database

Physio Sim Lab

This interactive suite consists of 5 electrophysiology practicals. Electrophysiology normally entails the dissection of animals (traditionally frog dissection models) and the investigation of various stimuli on the heart, muscle and nerves. This software prevents any dissection through the use of simulated videoclips and provides an interactive laboratory environment, in which students can observe the effects of various variables upon the virtual preparations, be it frog heart or nerve/muscle. Thus students are able to investigate the same factors that would be present in the traditional practical. The software also alleviates the need for lecturers and lab technicians to prepare practical manuals, as the third aspect of each experiment contains the printable manual and includes worksheets which students can complete and submit as part of their practical reports. In the virtual lab environment, heart rate and strength of contraction are made evident to students by graphical representation (whereby amplitude of the wave form represents strength of contraction and the time scale allows students to calculate heart rate). The software allows the student to: increase/decrease the temperature of the frog heart (Temperature of Frog Heart), or increase the calcium of the frog heart (Calcium on Frog Heart), and then observe the variations in heart rate and contractile strength; identify the hierarchy of pacemakers existing in the frog heart by ligaturing the primary and then secondary pacemakers, and observing the effectiveness of each successive pacemaker, as well as studying ventricular escape (Stannius Ligatures on Frog Heart); stimulate the frog heart at different phases of cardiac contraction and relaxation, via the virtual electrodes, and observe the phenomenon of extrasystole (Extra-Systole on Frog Heart); increase/decrease the temperature of the frog nerve-muscle preparation and then observe the variations in contraction, relaxation and latent period and contractile strength (Temperature on Frog Gastrocnemius Muscle and Sciatic Nerve).

Year of production: 2001
Medium: CD-ROM
System requirements: Windows only - Win98, Media Player 7 with Codecs; Pentium II processor (300 MHz), 32 MB RAM, 8 MB graphics card
Price: (5 CD-ROM Suite) US$75.00 (student licence); US$500.00 (institution licence - 10 users). Prices excl. postage