Preparing a Digital Video Examination of Urinary Sediments

Extract

Teaching the microscopic examination of urine sediments with patient samples is limited to the availability of appropriate, labile material. The alternative is to use static, flat, single views in 35 mm slides or on CD-ROMS. This paper discusses the preparation of material that mimics photographically what is seen through a microscope and presents a dynamic view of samples. Sediments were viewed through a binocular, light microscope using a TeachCam. The video feed was transmitted to a SVHS recorder for maximum resolution. The videotapes were digitized, and processed through a computer based non-linear video editing system. The final formats produced are on VHS videotape and DVD. Each specimen is presented with changes in focus and fields. Each sample is presented unstained and stained, and appears under low and high power. Six discrete segments allow viewing of selected elements. The video is accompanied by a narrative describing the identification and clinical significance of each formed element. The program has been well accepted by students.

Many medical conditions and aspects of the body's biochemistry can be identified through the simple means of examining a patient's urine for metabolic waste products, therapeutic or recreational chemicals and their metabolites, cells, and other products of the urinary tract. The ability to identify the formed elements of a urine sample is a subjective process that can be difficult to teach and to perform. Done properly, the identification of these elements may be the difference between an accurate diagnosis and a faulty one. A limiting factor in the…