Teaching Anatomy with AI: A Grant-Funded Spin-off from the exquAIro Bootcamp
How do clinician-researchers put AI into practice in medical education? In this edition of the Meet exquAIro series, we introduce Kai Yu Ma and Carola Haven, participants in exquAIro’s Biomedical AI Bootcamp. In the fall of 2024, Kai and Carola took part in this intensive program designed for clinician-scientists and researchers exploring applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Their participation led to a successful Education Grant application and a promising project on automated question generation in the field of anatomy.
Two educators, one shared ambition
Kai is involved in genetics education within the medical curriculum and also teaches AI to a broader audience within the UMCG—and more recently, at exquAIro as well. “Ever since the rise of ChatGPT in 2022, it was immediately clear to me that large language models would fundamentally transform education,” he explains. “I began delving into these models, started giving workshops, and soon became an informal AI ambassador within the faculty.”
Carola is a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Anatomy at the UMCG, where she teaches students in medicine, dentistry, human movement sciences, and various biomedical programs, ranging from vocational to university level. She also conducts research within the body donation program, with a focus on clinical anatomy and surgical innovation. “I was already intrigued by AI, but didn’t yet have a concrete application in mind. The bootcamp offered the perfect opportunity to change that.”
The exquAIro bootcamp as catalyst
Both Kai and Carola were referred to the bootcamp by their department heads. The program focuses on translating AI ideas into actionable innovations in education. For Kai, the bootcamp was a way to structure and deepen his existing knowledge: “The content was solid: well-grounded in theory but with a strong practical component. And it offered a network of like-minded participants and trainers, which was incredibly energizing.”
Carola emphasizes the program’s breadth: “It wasn’t just about technical know-how or hard skills. The bootcamp also included developing a compelling project proposal, navigating stakeholder management, and writing grant applications. That made it both practical and valuable.”
From idea to funding
The value of the bootcamp became tangible when Kai and Carola were awarded an Education Grant, still during the course of the bootcamp. Carola took the lead on the proposal. The project idea was conceived during the bootcamp itself: integrating AI into an existing anatomy app developed by the Department of Anatomy. The Anatomy Gym app is an educational game and consists of quiz questions on different anatomical subjects
This app is already used daily by more than 12,000 users worldwide to practice anatomical knowledge in an accessible way. The app features 3,000 questions, which have together generated over 2.3 million interactions to date . The goal now is to enhance this proven tool with AI capabilities.
“We wanted to expand corpus of exercises in the app by adding AI-generated questions using a large language model,” Carola explains. “Just around that time, a call for educational innovation proposals came out from the faculty. Kai and I jumped at the opportunity.”
On the final day of the bootcamp, in January 2025, they received word that their application had been approved. That felt like confirmation that the medical faculty had truly embraced our idea, recognizing its potential as a foundation to enhance medical education,” Kai says.
A scalable experiment
The grant enables them to work with a team of student assistants to generate anatomy questions at scale, supported by AI. “Our initial focus is on factual knowledge, but we eventually want to move toward more complex questions that require clinical reasoning,” says Carola. “The beauty of this is that we’re not only improving the app, but also exploring new forms of teaching.”
For Kai, this project gets to the heart of what AI can offer education: “On one hand, you can automate routine tasks like test item creation. On the other, AI enables didactic formats that were previously out of reach: think simulated patient cases at scale or personalized and adaptive learning paths.”
The Bootcamp Effect: Growing Expertise and Opening Doors
Both educators emphasize the value of their collaboration. “We complement each other in expertise, working style, and perspective,” Carola says. “What started as a shared interest during the exquAIro bootcamp has since grown into a productive, content-driven partnership.”
Kai adds, “Thanks to the bootcamp, we are now recognized as AI experts within our faculty and beyond, which has opened up new opportunities for us professionally. The program showed us how interdisciplinary teamwork and combining strengths lead to ideas that are both conceptually solid and practically viable. It truly illustrates the transformative impact the bootcamp can have on advancing AI in education.”
Want to know more?
Curious about the anatomy app or interested in connecting with Kai and Carola? Feel free to reach out via (k.y.ma@umcg.nl and c.j.haven@umcg.nl). Want to learn more about exquAIro or join one of our upcoming bootcamps? Contact Ilya Pethoukov, lead trainer at exquAIro, via info@exquAIro.com.