This program was designed and implemented at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. It is currently being converted into a Web-based program. The program is comprised of four main sections. The current modules focus on breathing mechanics, static conditions, and obstructive and restrictive disease states.
Tutorials are linear presentations of concepts with questions interspersed.
Illustrations and animations are used to reinforce the ideas. For example, the Quiet Breathing Tutorial builds up a triple animation, linking a breathing thorax, a gauge of pressure changes, and a graph of volume changes. Labs are interactive work areas that encourage students to compare and contrast scenarios, adjust model parameters, and see results. The Disease States Lab encourages students to compare spirogram tracings, compliance curves, and expiratory flow rates for normal, obstructive, and restrictive pulmonary diseases. Students may use a question bank to focus their exploration.