Simulation-based teaching and learning for electrophysiology by iCell

An interactive cell modeling web site, iCell (http://ssdl.bme.memphis.edu/icell/), that integrates research and education, was developed as a simulation-based teaching and learning tool for electrophysiology. The site consists of JAVA applets representing models of various cardiac cells and neurons, and provides simulation data of their bioelectric activities at cellular level. Each JAVA-based model allows the user to go through menu options to change model parameters, ran and view simulation results. The site also has a glossary section for the scientific terms. iCell has been used as a teaching and learning tool for four graduate courses at the Joint Biomedical Engineering Program of University of Memphis and University of Tennessee. This modeling tool was also used as a collaboration site among our colleagues interested in simulations of cell membrane activities. Scientists from the fields of biosciences, engineering, life sciences and medical sciences in USA, Canada, China, Brazil, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Turkey have tested and utilized iCell as a simulation-based teaching, learning and collaboration environment. The platform-independent software, iCell, provides us with an interactive and user-friendly teaching and learning tool, and also a collaboration environment for electrophysiology to be shared over the Internet.