Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph

Abstract Background Digital transformation in pathology education faces three bottlenecks: fragmented knowledge transfer, low morphological diagnostic accuracy, and weak clinical reasoning. While knowledge graphs (KGs) offer potential solutions, existing medical KG lack multimodal integration and co...

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Main Authors: Hong Wei, Xue Liu, Huiling Cao, Weiqi Qin, Qun Ma, Lingling Kong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Medical Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07566-0
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author Hong Wei
Xue Liu
Huiling Cao
Weiqi Qin
Qun Ma
Lingling Kong
author_facet Hong Wei
Xue Liu
Huiling Cao
Weiqi Qin
Qun Ma
Lingling Kong
author_sort Hong Wei
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Digital transformation in pathology education faces three bottlenecks: fragmented knowledge transfer, low morphological diagnostic accuracy, and weak clinical reasoning. While knowledge graphs (KGs) offer potential solutions, existing medical KG lack multimodal integration and competency assessment. We designed an integrated Multimodal Knowledge Graph (MKG) with O-PIRTAS pedagogy to bridge these gaps. Methods Following Design Science Research Methodology, we built a pathology-specific MKG featuring: (1) Semantic modeling of disease mechanisms (etiology-pathogenesis-morphology-clinical), (2) Cross-modal alignment of digital slides/animations/clinical cases, (3) Embedded metrics (KII/MDA/CCAE) for competency quantification. A quasi-experiment with 533 medical students (2022 cohort control: n = 275; 2023 MKG-O-PIRTAS: n = 258) evaluated outcomes via exam scores, validated questionnaires, and stratified interviews. Results The MKG-O-PIRTAS group achieved significantly higher adjusted exam scores (76.14 vs. 73.72, p = 0.033) and 86% lower misdiagnosis rate in high performers (p = 0.015). Cognitive load diverged markedly (57.5 vs. 75.5, p = 0.007), with high performers dynamically contextualizing MKG nodes into clinical reasoning, while novices required scaffolded pathways. Over 80% of students endorsed enhanced knowledge integration and process optimization. Conclusion The MKG-O-PIRTAS artifact transforms scattered pathology knowledge into actionable clinical reasoning scaffolds, proving effective for personalized competency development. Future work will scale adaptive scaffolding and integrate real-time EMR modules, establishing a replicable paradigm for medical education intelligence.
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spelling doaj-art-47397492e6fd488e93a151ec97faf3b52025-08-20T03:38:18ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202025-07-0125111110.1186/s12909-025-07566-0Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graphHong Wei0Xue Liu1Huiling Cao2Weiqi Qin3Qun Ma4Lingling Kong5College of Basic Medicine, Jining Medical UniversityCollege of Basic Medicine, Jining Medical UniversityCollege of Basic Medicine, Jining Medical UniversityCollege of Clinical Medicine, Jining Medical UniversityCenter for Excellent Teaching and Learning, Jining Medical UniversityCollege of Basic Medicine, Jining Medical UniversityAbstract Background Digital transformation in pathology education faces three bottlenecks: fragmented knowledge transfer, low morphological diagnostic accuracy, and weak clinical reasoning. While knowledge graphs (KGs) offer potential solutions, existing medical KG lack multimodal integration and competency assessment. We designed an integrated Multimodal Knowledge Graph (MKG) with O-PIRTAS pedagogy to bridge these gaps. Methods Following Design Science Research Methodology, we built a pathology-specific MKG featuring: (1) Semantic modeling of disease mechanisms (etiology-pathogenesis-morphology-clinical), (2) Cross-modal alignment of digital slides/animations/clinical cases, (3) Embedded metrics (KII/MDA/CCAE) for competency quantification. A quasi-experiment with 533 medical students (2022 cohort control: n = 275; 2023 MKG-O-PIRTAS: n = 258) evaluated outcomes via exam scores, validated questionnaires, and stratified interviews. Results The MKG-O-PIRTAS group achieved significantly higher adjusted exam scores (76.14 vs. 73.72, p = 0.033) and 86% lower misdiagnosis rate in high performers (p = 0.015). Cognitive load diverged markedly (57.5 vs. 75.5, p = 0.007), with high performers dynamically contextualizing MKG nodes into clinical reasoning, while novices required scaffolded pathways. Over 80% of students endorsed enhanced knowledge integration and process optimization. Conclusion The MKG-O-PIRTAS artifact transforms scattered pathology knowledge into actionable clinical reasoning scaffolds, proving effective for personalized competency development. Future work will scale adaptive scaffolding and integrate real-time EMR modules, establishing a replicable paradigm for medical education intelligence.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07566-0Knowledge graphPathologyFlipped classroomAdaptive learning
spellingShingle Hong Wei
Xue Liu
Huiling Cao
Weiqi Qin
Qun Ma
Lingling Kong
Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
BMC Medical Education
Knowledge graph
Pathology
Flipped classroom
Adaptive learning
title Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
title_full Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
title_fullStr Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
title_full_unstemmed Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
title_short Research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
title_sort research on the construction and application of pathology knowledge graph
topic Knowledge graph
Pathology
Flipped classroom
Adaptive learning
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07566-0
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AT huilingcao researchontheconstructionandapplicationofpathologyknowledgegraph
AT weiqiqin researchontheconstructionandapplicationofpathologyknowledgegraph
AT qunma researchontheconstructionandapplicationofpathologyknowledgegraph
AT linglingkong researchontheconstructionandapplicationofpathologyknowledgegraph