Rush OTD Students Use Tech to Transform Anatomy Learning

Second-year occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) students at Rush University Medical Center are taking anatomy education to the next level with cutting-edge technology. Among the most impactful tools in use are Anatomage tables—high-tech visualization and virtual dissection platforms—helping first-year students better understand complex structures of the human body.

Lauren Simons, a second-year student and anatomy tutor, uses the tables to enhance tutoring sessions and exam preparation. “Anatomage tables are a great tool to help supplement the content that first-year OTD students learn from anatomy lectures, discussions, and cadaver lab sessions,” she explained. Rush currently has two such tables, allowing her to create customized quizzes for students.

Fellow tutor Nora Harvel highlighted the interactive benefits. “In the OTD program, we focus mostly on muscles and nerves located throughout the body,” she said. “Using the Anatomage tables, we can isolate specific muscles and nerves and make them easily visible and identifiable to the students.” Harvel also chose Rush for its small class sizes and personalized clinical training.

For Simons, faculty dedication played a crucial role in her decision to join the program. “I chose Rush OTD because of how passionate and kind all the faculty are and how willing they are to help me as a student in my journey of learning to be an OT,” she noted.

The program’s tech-driven approach extends beyond Anatomage tables. Students gain hands-on experience with Moxie robots powered by artificial intelligence to engage children in play-based developmental activities, as well as 3D printing to produce custom prosthetics, splints, and patient-specific devices.

This innovative integration of technology has helped earn Rush’s OTD program a place among the top 20 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“We’re striving for excellence and innovation in everything we do, and without technology, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to be leaders who are advancing the profession of occupational therapy,” said Becky Ozelie, DHS, OTR/L, FAOTA, chairperson of the Department of Occupational Therapy and OTD program director.

Founded in 1837 and based in Chicago, Illinois, Rush University Medical Center operates as both a leading academic institution and a teaching hospital under the leadership of Dr. Omar Lateef. Its programs span pediatrics to advanced clinical research, with a focus on preparing students to meet the evolving demands of healthcare.