Nicholas Woolridge

Portable mood mapping: the validity and reliability of analog scale displays for mood assessment via hand-held computer.

The long-term natural time course of mood change remains poorly understood, and improved methods that assay multiple mood symptoms quickly and reliably are crucial to further progress. This study describes the reliability and validity of the new visual analog scale (VAS) display method for a recently developed 19-item VAS-based mood questionnaire, the VMQ, administered via hand-held computer (HHC). The effect of the smaller HHC screen size on accuracy and precision of VAS completion was investigated in 28 subjects using 4- and 10-cm paper-based VASs to indicate six specified dates within the year. The influence of digital vs. paper medium was then tested in 39 subjects who completed the same task, using 10-cm paper and 4-cm HHC-based VASs. Test-retest reliability was evaluated in 29 subjects who completed the questionnaire on a HHC twice, 10 min apart. Since the HHC presents VMQ scales with text anchor orientation set randomly, we also considered whether subjects might inadvertently transpose responses on the HHC. We found that reducing VAS size produced no significant loss of response precision or accuracy in subject response. Moreover, there was no significant loss of accuracy or precision between 10-cm paper and 4-cm HHC-based versions of the VAS. HHC-based items also demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability, with excellent values of Cronbachs alpha. The transposition error rate was negligible (0.27%). Our study provides initial evidence that the HHC-based VAS display used in the VMQ is a reliable and valid tool for comprehensive collection of analog mood scale data.

Mood assessment via animated characters: a novel instrument to evaluate feelings in young children with anxiety disorders.

We evaluated a novel, computerized feelings assessment instrument (MAAC) in 54 children with anxiety disorders and 35 nonanxious children ages 5 to 11. They rated their feelings relative to 16 feeling animations. Ratings of feelings, order of feeling selection, and correlations with standardized anxiety measures were examined. Positive emotions were rated more highly and visited earlier by nonanxious children. Children with anxiety disorders explored fewer emotions. MAAC ratings on several positive emotions showed inverse correlations with state anxiety. Although needing further evaluation, MAAC may facilitate feelings assessment in young children and may distinguish children with anxiety disorders from nonanxious children.

The orbitozygomatic approach.

OBJECTIVE: The orbitozygomatic approach is a modification and extension of the pterional craniotomy to gain a wider exposure of structures at a cranial base. To simplify the understanding and performance of the approach, we developed a teaching video that follows a systematic approach to the surgical anatomy and technique. METHODS: The authors have incorporated three-dimensional (3D) renderings into the descriptions of the surgical technique and contemporary computer animation is used to demonstrate surgical details and nuances of the procedure. RESULTS: A teaching video was compiled, and it was well received by neurosurgical residents in Europe and Canada. CONCLUSION: With mastery in the surgical laboratory and with guided supervision, the approach can be routinely applied without adding morbidity to a variety of pathologies such as aneurysms and tumors.

Biomedical Communications: Collaborative Research in Scientific Visualization, Online Learning, and Knowledge Translation

Collaborative research in biomedical communications investigates the role of visual media in scientific discovery and in patient and health professional education. The spectrum of work is broad and includes the visualization of scientific knowledge and simulation of hypothetical models of health and disease, as well as the design of audience‐centered interactive visual media. The work cited supports the notion that research‐based visual media can contribute to the core missions of science: discovery, communication, collaboration, and education.

Illustrating Medicine: Line, Luminance and the Lessons from J.C.B. Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy (1943)

The onset of the Second World War created a temporary crisis in the North American medical community when the supply of medical textbooks from Europe, used to train physicians and surgeons, was threatened. In 1941, Dr J.C.B. Grant of the University of Toronto proposed a new anatomical atlas, comprising both tonal and line drawings, to address this need. In this visual essay, the authors briefly illustrate Grant’s method for creating these drawings, and his systematic and deliberate use of photography in the process. They explain the reasons for Grant’s use of black and white images, and examine the specific illustration techniques used by these artists. A series of close-ups of the original drawings produced for the Atlas in the 1940s highlight the visual communication strategies deployed by these skilled illustrators. In so doing, they make an argument for the importance of examining how images are produced for medical publication, and not merely examining what is produced.