OpenSpineConsortium: An Open-Source Framework for Medical Student Engagement in Computational Spine Imaging Research

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Computational Anatomy
• Open Science

Background:

• Preclinical medical curricula often limit opportunities for research experience, particularly in competitive specialties.
• Existing imaging-based curricula are typically institution-bound and do not integrate anatomical learning with computational skill development.
• This initiative addresses these limitations by combining open-source spine imaging data with Python programming within a collaborative framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the OpenSpineConsortium (OSC) model in enhancing medical students' skills in spine anatomy, computational proficiency, and scientific communication.
• To assess the impact of the OSC program on students' scholarly productivity and interest in research-oriented careers.
• To determine the scalability and cost-effectiveness of this interdisciplinary educational approach.

Main Methods:

• The OpenSpineConsortium (OSC) utilized distributed, open-source, openly licensed spine and pelvis imaging datasets.
• Medical students analyzed CT scans, annotated anatomical structures, and learned automated parameter extraction using Python.
• A structured onboarding process covered spine anatomy, segmentation, Python, and reproducible workflows, with mentorship provided for sub-projects.

Main Results:

• Significant self-reported improvements were observed in CT spine interpretation, anatomic landmark/pathology identification, and Python coding skills (p<0.05).
• Scholarly output, including conference submissions and abstract writing, also showed significant improvement.
• A notable increase in interest towards neurosurgery and research-oriented careers was reported by participants.

Conclusions:

• The OSC model successfully enhanced medical students' proficiency in spine anatomy, computational skills, and scientific communication.
• The program facilitated the completion of 10 scholarly projects, demonstrating a scalable and cost-effective method for integrating education and research.
• OSC effectively bridges anatomical education, computational training, and authentic research contribution within the constraints of medical school schedules.