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Medicine in Glasgow, past and present
Timeline: 6 months
Client: The Hunterian, Glasgow
Value: £20k
Aim: The aim was to develop some exhibits about health to tie in with a renovation that was being completed in the museum. We had to propose a number of ideas, 6 of which were selected to be built.
What we did: FifeX created 6 interactives all based on important aspects of health:Virus & Antibodies - Users explore the interaction of antibodies with viruses and the result of virus mutation.Which Joint? - A hands-on exhibit to introduce people to the difference in the way knee joints behave in people with Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis compared to a normal, healthy joint. By moving the joint with their hand, users can feel (and hear!) the difference between the three joints! LCD shutters allow information panels to 'appear' when the joint is being used.One Life Bandit - An exciting software based exhibit where the user is asked to input their current lifestyle characteristics and then observe how this impacts their future chances of survival. The aim of the game is for the user to reach the age of 100, and receive a telegram from the Queen! As the user advances through the game they observe how their lifestyle factors increase their risk of certain diseases before giving them minor incidents in those areas. Each time, risks (based on real statistics) are calculated and their outcome is decided. If you survive the minor incident, the game allows you to change your lifestyle habits, in the hope that you can still make it to 100!Multiple Sclerosis - This exhibit is a simple yet graphic demonstration of how the process of de-myelination of CNS nerve fibres gives rise to significant changes in their function. The visitor is encouraged to stimulate the dendrites of each nerve by repeatedly pressing on the 'dendrite' buttons until the stimulated nerve is triggered. The normal cell shows normal saltatory conduction (slowed down for the exhibit). The nerve impulse is conducted rapidly along the axon and repolarisation is fast so the nerve is soon able to be stimulated again. In contrast, the damaged nerve shows only continuous conduction, which is slow. Repolarisation also takes a great deal longer so the user has to wait longer before the nerve can be stimulated again.Arteriosclerosis - A simple interactive demonstrating the consequences of loss of arterial elasticity. Users are invited to pump the handpump to see the how the blood flow is different in an 'artery' that is in a normal condition and one that has lost its elasticiBlood Pressure - The centre piece exhibit allows users to appreciate of how hard their heart works and to demonstrate how this load is significantly increased with raised blood pressure. The exhibit, 3m high, gives the user 5 different pressures that they can pump with their legs. Moving up from the lowest pressure the user notices that it gets increasingly difficult to pump the 'blood'. With legs tiring quickly the aim is to leave a lasting impression on the effects of blood pressure problems.
External Link to Client's Website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/