Application of the AI Platform iLN Based on DeepSeek in the Teaching of Lupus Nephritis

Aim:

To evaluate the application effect of the teaching platform iLN in the teaching of lupus nephritis, aiming to provide practical experience and evidence-based support for the implementation of generative AI technology in professional medical education.

Method:

Based on the DeepSeek large language model, the investigators developed "iLN" - an interactive teaching platform for lupus nephritis. This platform integrates the latest authoritative textbooks, clinical guidelines, pathological atlases, and real clinical cases, and includes seven core modules, such as "case interaction", "knowledge teaching", and "AI question answering". The investigators conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on 50 fourth-year undergraduate students from Nanjing University School of Medicine to evaluate the effectiveness of the iLN platform compared to traditional teaching methods. The teaching effect was evaluated through objective test scores and questionnaires about student satisfaction and platform usability.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Learning
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: An iLN interactive teaching platform; Other: PPT

Detailed Description

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is reshaping the landscape of medical education with unprecedented depth and breadth. From early rule-based teaching expert systems to the current generation of Generative AI (GAI) systems like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, the continuous evolution of technology has not only greatly enriched teaching methods but also fundamentally changed the ways knowledge is acquired, disseminated, and evaluated. Internationally, Generative AI (GAI) has been widely applied in creating virtual cases, constructing clinical simulation scenarios, assisting medical writing, and providing personalized learning plans for medical students. However, there are almost no dedicated large language model (GAI) teaching applications specifically for lupus nephritis (LN) worldwide. As the most common severe organ complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), LN affects approximately 50% to 70% of SLE patients with kidney involvement. Its diagnosis and treatment involve multiple complex processes, including the identification of clinical manifestations, the interpretation of immune markers, the assessment of renal pathological types, the quantification of disease activity, and the formulation of personalized treatment plans. All of these place extremely high demands on the knowledge integration and clinical reasoning skills of medical students. The traditional LN teaching model mainly relies on theoretical classroom lectures and is supplemented by static pathological image presentations. Some scholars have introduced problem-based learning (PBL) teaching models and integrated ideological and political education, but there are still significant deficiencies: (1) Knowledge update lag - In the field of LN, new diagnostic standards (such as the 2019 EULAR/ACR systemic lupus erythematosus classification criteria), new pathological classifications (such as the 2018 ISN/RPS revised version), and new drug treatment regimens (such as belimumab) are constantly emerging, while the textbook revision cycle is relatively long, making it difficult for students to obtain the latest knowledge in a timely manner; (2) Lack of personalized teaching - Facing students with varying levels of basic knowledge, teachers find it difficult to meet the needs of different learning paces; students with weak foundations have difficulty understanding complex pathological mechanisms, while those with solid foundations may find the content too simplistic; (3) Insufficient clinical reasoning training - Traditional classrooms lack real clinical scenario simulations, and students listen passively rather than actively exploring, making it difficult for them to establish a complete clinical reasoning chain from "symptoms - signs - laboratory tests - pathology - diagnosis - treatment". In this context, building a GAI-assisted teaching platform specifically designed for LN teaching, fully leveraging the personalized interaction, dynamic content generation, and intelligent assessment capabilities of AI, is of great significance for teaching reform and innovation.

In this study, the investigators constructed an iLN interactive teaching platform for lupus nephritis based on the DeepSeek large language model and by integrating the latest authoritative textbooks, guidelines, and clinical pathology materials. Through a randomized controlled teaching trial, the investigators systematically evaluated the application effect of this platform in LN teaching, aiming to provide practical experience and evidence-based support for the implementation of GAI technology in specialized medical education.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Hao Bao, Doctor.; Phone Number: 86-15062213937; Email: bhao@nju.edu.cn

Study Locations

• China
  • Jiangsu
    • Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, 210016
      • Nanjing university

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• As a student majoring in clinical medicine
• Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to understand, read, or communicate in Chinese
• Failure to participate in any stage of the study (e.g. in-class education session, or post-test)
• Requesting withdrawal from the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: GAI-assisted teaching group; GAI-assisted teaching group: Students used various platform modules for self-directed learning under the instructor's guidance: (1) In the "Case Interaction" module, students interacted with three virtual cases by inputting natural language questions (e.g., "Does the patient have edema?", "What is the patient's proteinuria level?", "What are the light microscopy results of the renal biopsy?"). The platform automatically determines the question type and provides the corresponding information, while the visualized patient model on the right side simultaneously highlights the affected systems already identified, and the case information acquisition progress bar is updated dynamically; (2) When students encounter difficulties, they can invoke DeepSeek in real time for immediate answers through the "AI Q&A" module; (3) After completing case interactions, students proactively summarized the history characteristics, with the instructor providing supplementary input; (4) The instructor guided	Device: An iLN interactive teaching platform; An iLN interactive teaching platform for lupus nephritis based on the DeepSeek large language model and by integrating the latest authoritative textbooks, guidelines, and clinical pathology materials.
Other: Traditional teaching group; Traditional teaching group: Adopted the traditional PowerPoint (PPT) lecture mode. The instructor used uniformly prepared PPT courseware to sequentially lecture on the SLE overview, LN clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, pathological classification, diagnostic criteria, treatment plans, and prognosis evaluation. The courseware included static pathological and clinical manifestation images.	Other: PPT; Adopted the traditional PowerPoint (PPT) lecture mode. The instructor used uniformly prepared PPT courseware to sequentially lecture on the SLE overview, LN clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, pathological classification, diagnostic criteria, treatment plans, and prognosis evaluation. The courseware included static pathological and clinical manifestation images.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Objective Test Scores	Unified in-class objective test (20 multiple-choice questions, 5 points each, 100 points total)，the higher the score, the better the performance.	On the day of the end of the teaching session within 30 minutes after teaching session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Questionnaire Survey	Students in the GAI group filled out the questionnaire on the iLN platform, including overall satisfaction (satisfied/dissatisfied), and gave scores (from 1 to 5) on 12 dimensions such as the platform's interest, teaching novelty, content clarity, interface design, and learning effect improvement. They also submitted open-ended suggestions for improvement.	On the day of the end of the teaching session within 60 minutes after teaching session.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nanjing University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Lin Y, Luo Z, Ye Z, Zhong N, Zhao L, Zhang L, Li X, Chen Z, Chen Y. Applications, Challenges, and Prospects of Generative Artificial Intelligence Empowering Medical Education: Scoping Review. JMIR Med Educ. 2025 Oct 23;11:e71125. doi: 10.2196/71125.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 30, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 16, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Medical education; Lupus nephritis; DeepSeek; Generative artificial intelligence
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Kidney Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Connective Tissue Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Immune System Diseases; Glomerulonephritis; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; Nephritis; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Lupus Nephritis
• Other Study ID Numbers: NDY2025004

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data will not be shared

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No