How to use Google Docs Drawings for medical mind maps

Google Drawings is a new collaborative drawing editor - part of the updated Google Docs. It is free to use, just like the rest of Google Docs. The new standalone drawings editor lets you collaborate in real time on flow charts, designs, diagrams and other fun or business graphics. You can copy these drawings into documents, spreadsheets and presentations using the web clipboard, or share and publish drawings just like other Google Docs.



Until now, my service of choice for medical mind maps was Bubbl.us and I have made more than 100 diagrams with it for AllergyCases.org:

Mind Map Diagrams in Allergy and Immunology

Bubbl.us works very well but I was concerned about embedding the mind maps in case the service goes down temporarily or if the company closes down in the future (mind maps can be exported in XML format for backup). None of these should be a problem with Google Docs. Drawings is obviously behind Bubbl.us in terms of features but it works for basic mind maps and I am planning to use it frequently in the future.

You can embed the minds maps as images, just like you do with YouTube videos, or provide a link to the original mind map and share it for collaboration:

Example: Accidental Injection of Epinephrine Into Finger

Every time you update the mind map in Google Docs/Drawings, the image updates too.

See a few mind maps created with Drawings below:

(click to enlarge the images)


(click to enlarge the images)

In order to publish the mind map diagram on the web, you have to click the "Share" button in the top right corner of the Google Docs menu. After the diagram is published, you will see the options to embed the image with different sizes and the link to share the original drawing with options to be edited by collaborators.

References

Introducing Google Docs drawings
A new Google Docs

Getting started guide for Google Drawings
Can images (mind maps, infographics) stop data overload? Symptom of the computer age: overwhelmed, we delay decisions http://goo.gl/URMKm

University of Cambridge shows high-resolution Newton notebooks online. He used mind maps - check Trinity College Notebook, image 5.

Comments from Twitter:


Robbo @BiteTheDust: excellent. will give it a go RT @DrVes: How to use Google Docs Drawings for medical mind maps bit.ly/J4BX7U

Google "wonder wheels" are rudimentary mind maps

Update: The Google Wonder Wheel was discontinued by Google in 2011 http://goo.gl/9jdn2

Google "wonder wheel" for asthma looks like a rudimentary mind map: http://bit.ly/4tOOF (see below):

WikiMindMap provides better visual results http://bit.ly/2y4pnk (see below):


WikiMindMap is a website that organizes wiki content in a mind map format http://bit.ly/1ZV5rC and http://www.wikimindmap.org

See the "Web 2.0 and medicine" Google Wonder wheel http://bit.ly/3iHR1 - @giustini, @berci, @laikas and @DrVes make the top results:

Related:ICU Mind Maps http://bit.ly/1VIVOi and http://bit.ly/2EnZLi

Medical profession's use of mind mapping - WikIT http://goo.gl/1Kjd

Note taking with mind maps did not improve the scores of medical students (study) http://goo.gl/8qeQ

Study claims mind maps don't help learning - "you should just take tests" - NYTimes http://goo.gl/kvdSZ and http://goo.gl/6ql7n

Mind Maps Inventor: "We Think Like Exploding Stars"

"What is a mind map" video by Tony Buzan

Tony Buzan created the first mind map in 1974. In his interview for a Dubai newspaper, he explains:

"In school I was a good note taker. I could write 15 words on a line, 600 words on a page, in good handwriting. In university things became more difficult. So I took more notes, but the more notes I took the more I began to drown.

I realized that key words were the essence, the nuggets, and the rest was nothing, a waste of energy.

'A picture is worth 1000 words' - because we remember with images, not with words. I added codes and curved lines, because curved lines are more attractive to the brain. So the Mind Map became: key words, colours, images, connections and locating them in their right place.

The way the brain fundamentally thinks is radiant, meaning that it thinks primarily from image centres, and then radiates out. We think like exploding stars. The brain's thinking processes, especially memory, creativity and understanding are based on networks of information. When you say 'mango', the brain sees the picture of the mango, imagines the taste, the colour. So, from that central picture mango, you have the radiant branches, taste, colour, tropics, your favourite mango, mango cakes, mango pudding, mango drink, regions where mangos are grown… all radiating off, with rich sensory details."

While I don't agree that curved links are better than straight lines in mind maps, Tony Buzan's work definitely deserves attention.

I have used mind maps extensively during my preparation for USMLE and ABIM, and this probably contributed to my relative success on those examinations -- I consistently scored better than the 95th percentile on USMLE and ABIM in-service exams. Even more importantly, mind maps make studying more fun.

We have a dedicated section for mind maps at AllergyCases.org: Mind Map Diagrams in Allergy and Immunology. A few examples are shown below:



Differential diagnosis of cough, a simple mnemonic is GREAT BAD CAT TOM. Click here to enlarge the image: (GERD (reflux), Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR), Rhinitis (both allergic and non-allergic) with post-nasal drip (upper airway cough syndrome), Embolism, e.g. PE in adults, Asthma, TB (tuberculosis), Bronchitis, pneumonia, pertussis, Aspiration, e.g foreign body in children, Drugs, e.g. ACE inhibitor, CF in children, Cardiogenic, e.g. mitral stenosis in adults, Achalasia in adults, Thyroid enlargement, e.g. goiter, "Thoughts" (psychogenic), Other causes, Malignancy, e.g. lung cancer in adults).


Mind map diagram of exercise-induced asthma


Classification of ocular allergy


Eosinophilic Esophagitis, a mind map diagram

The mind maps above were made with Bubbl.us which is currently one of the best web-based tools for mind map creation. It is free and allows seamless import/export and interoperability with other mind mapping software.

References:

‘We think like exploding stars.’ Vijay Dandige. Khaleej Times Online.
Video: What is a mind map?
Mind Maps in Allergy and Immunology. AllergyCases.org.
How to Use Bubble.us to Make 2008 Your Most Productive Year Ever. LifeHack.org, 01/2008.
Unconventional Medical Textbooks: Mind Maps and Visual Mnemonics

Related reading:

Can images (mind maps, infographics) stop data overload? Symptom of the computer age: overwhelmed, we delay decisions http://goo.gl/URMKm
Five Best Mind Mapping Applications. Lifehacker, 2009.
Medical Mind Maps by the Wikipedia user Madhero88, a 3rd year Medical Student from Jordan.
ICU Mind Maps http://bit.ly/1VIVOi and http://bit.ly/2EnZLi

Medical profession's use of mind mapping - WikIT http://goo.gl/1Kjd

Note taking with mind maps did not improve the scores of medical students (study)http://goo.gl/8qeQ
Study claims mind maps don't help learning - "you should just take tests" - NYTimeshttp://goo.gl/kvdSZ and http://goo.gl/6ql7n

Unconventional Medical Textbooks: Mind Maps and Visual Mnemonics

Generally, I find self-made notes, mnemonics and mind maps useful when studying but was surprised to find out the number of unconventional textbook published in the last few years focused on using such tools. A short list is assembled below:

Mind Maps Books

Mind Maps in Medicine by Peter MacDermott, David Norman Clarke. 1998, Elsevier Health Sciences.
Google Books, $35
Elsevier Health Sciences
Amazon.com, $ 45.

Mind Maps in Pathology by Peter A. Dervan, Michelle Harrison. 2002, Elsevier Health Sciences.
Google Books, $35
Elsevier Health Sciences
Amazon.com, $ 32.

Books from Visual Mnemonics Series (VMS)

Visual Mnemonics for Pharmacology by Laurie L Marbas - 2002.
Google Books.
Amazon, $ 25.

Visual Mnemonics in Pathology by Laurie Marbas
Google Books.
Amazon, $ 27.

Other books included in the VMS are Visual Mnemonics for Physiology and Related Anatomy, Visual Mnemonics for Microbiology and Immunology, Visual Mnemonics for Biochemistry, and Visual Mnemonics for Behavioral Sciences.

Mnemonics Books

Medical Mnemonic Comics - Respiratory Diseases by Sotiri Athanasakis.
Self-published on Lulu.com, $ 27.
Google Books.

Mnemonics for Medical Students by Khalid Khan.
Amazon, $14.

Differential Diagnosis Mnemonics by Thomas J. Donnelly and Christopher C. Giza.
Amazon, $ 26.

References

Developing the medical mind. BMJ 7159 Volume 317, 5 September 1998.
Modern Education: Mind Maps and Second Life. ScienceRoll.com.
Image source: Mind Maps in Medicine by Peter MacDermott, David Norman Clarke. 1998, Elsevier Health Sciences.

Related reading

Medical profession's use of mind mapping - WikIT http://goo.gl/1Kjd
Can images (mind maps, infographics) stop data overload? Symptom of the computer age: overwhelmed, we delay decisions http://goo.gl/URMKm

Medical Mind Maps by the Wikipedia user Madhero88, a 3rd year Medical Student from Jordan.

Note taking with mind maps did not improve the scores of medical students (study)http://goo.gl/8qeQ
Medical Mnemonics
Study claims mind maps don't help learning - "you should just take tests" - NYTimes http://goo.gl/kvdSZ and http://goo.gl/6ql7n
University of Cambridge shows high-resolution Newton notebooks online. He used mind maps - check Trinity College Notebook, image 5.

Video: What is a mind map?

"What is a mind map" video by Tony Buzan

The psychologist Tony Buzan is one of the first proponents of the techniques of mind mapping. He launched his own software program to support this learning approach called iMindMap in 2006 and claims a trademark on the phrase "Mind Maps."

Buzan developed his own style of mind mapping whilst at University of British Columbia, out of the frustration that traditional notes took up so much time to create and review. He has argued that mind maps are a more efficient way to take notes from lectures or books.

I do not think he will be able to trademark the term "mind maps. " Tim O'Reilly's supposed claims to ownership of 'Web 2.0" proved fruitless and the fate of the trademark claims to "mind maps" will not be much different . While I don't agree that "curved links are better than straight lines in mind maps," Tony Buzan's work definitely deserves some attention.

Bubbl.us is currently one of the best web-based tools for mind map creation. It is free and allows seamless import/export and interoperability with other mind mapping software.

References:
Tony Buzan, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Nobody Owns "Web 2.0" Because It's Yours. CasesBlog, 2006.
Mind Maps in Allergy and Immunology. AllergyCases.org.
How to Use Bubble.us to Make 2008 Your Most Productive Year Ever. LifeHack.org, 01/2008.

Related:
Video: Getting started with mind mapping podcast now available. The Mind Mapping Software Weblog, 02/2008.

Medical profession's use of mind mapping - WikIT http://goo.gl/1Kjd
Tony Buzan's Mind Mapping Videos.
Five Best Mind Mapping Applications. Lifehacker, 2009.
Medical Mind Maps by the Wikipedia user Madhero88, a 3rd year Medical Student from Jordan.
ICU Mind Maps http://bit.ly/1VIVOi and http://bit.ly/2EnZLi

Note taking with mind maps did not improve the scores of medical students (study) http://goo.gl/8qeQ
Study claims mind maps don't help learning - "you should just take tests" - NYTimes http://goo.gl/kvdSZ and http://goo.gl/6ql7n

Visual Medical Dictionary Creates Mind Maps of Related Medical Terms

Visual Medical Dictionary by CureHunter Inc. can create mind maps of related medical terms. It is similar to WikiMindMap but somewhat more reliable since it is based on Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

For example: a search for "obesity" will show a strong relationship with "insulin" and "exercise" among other terms -- see the image on the right.

Try other searches to see how the visual dictionary creates interactive network graph of related diseases and therapies.

It would be interesting to see if this type of visual tools and mind maps created on the fly will supplement regular PubMed searching strategies. Visual search engines like Kartoo are still far from replacing the plain Google interface.

Related:

Medical profession's use of mind mapping - WikIT http://goo.gl/1Kjd

Study claims mind maps don't help learning - "you should just take tests" - NYTimes http://goo.gl/kvdSZ and http://goo.gl/6ql7n