2016 ARCHES Projects
SUMMER 2016
VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEM OF PATIENT SPECIFIC HEART MODEL MEDICAL EDUCATION AND SURGICAL PLANNING
Led by: Lavelle Kesavadas from U of I and Matthew Bramlet, MD from OSF HealthCare and UICOMP
Currently, doctors are using 2D tools and images to visualize a child’s 3D heart and make important surgical decisions. Because of the complex intra- and extra-cardiac relationships and connections, this imperfect method makes it difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose a patient. Researchers at the Health Care Engineering System Center at U of I and Jump Simulation, a part of OSF Innovation are using 3D immersive virtual reality technology to help solve this problem. They have created an intuitive model generated from patient-specific MRIs using stereoscopic 3D head-mounted displays.
SPRING 2016
SAFETY AND RELIABILITY OF SURGICAL ROBOTS VIA SIMULATION
Led by: Ravishankar Iyer from U of I and David Crawford, MD from OSF HealthCare and UICOMP
In 2015, researchers at Illinois, MIT, and Rush University Medical Center reported that surgical robots had caused 144 deaths in 14 years. Now, computer engineers at Illinois and surgeons at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria are collaborating on new research to improve the reliability and safety of minimally invasive robotic surgery.
This research will create platforms for simulation of realistic safety-hazard scenarios in robotic surgery and develop tools and techniques for the design and evaluation of the next generation of resilient surgical robots. The work will help improve not only the safety of robotic surgical systems, but also simulation-based training of future surgeons.
PATIENT DISCHARGE PROCESS AND COMMUNICATIONS SIMULATION TRAINING
Led by: Deborah Thurston from U of I and Richard Pearl, MD from OSF HealthCare and UICOMP
About 20-25% of patients discharged from hospitals are readmitted within 30 days, costing roughly $42 billion dollars per year to insurance providers, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. These costs are now the responsibility of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) like OSF HealthCare.
In some cases, patients are discharged too soon or with inappropriate treatment. Or patients may not understand and/or comply with discharge instructions such as how they are supposed to take their medications and what levels of activities they are able to do. There are a variety of proposed tools and techniques available to reduce readmissions, but there is no holistic system addressing the issue.
A framework is being developed, as part of ARCHES funded research, which will help define the complexity of the total patient discharge system and allow hospitals to evaluate new technology, policy, and communication systems in the construct of training simulation strategies.
SIMULATION TRAINING FOR MECHANICAL CIRCULATORY SUPPORT USING EXTRA-CORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION (ECMO) IN ADULT PATIENTS
Led by: Pramod Chembrammel from U of I and Matthew Bramlet, MD from OSF HealthCare and UICOMP
This team is developing a simulator to train surgeons in using extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to provide artificial oxygenation to blood cells. This skill, which is difficult to perfect without practicing on real patients, helps save failing hearts and lungs during a surgery. The researchers are modifying the DR DopplerTM blood flow simulator, which simulates blood flow in the vasculature, to develop a working prototype where the blood flow changes colors based on oxygenation.
SIMULATION TRAINING TO IDENTIFY FALL RISK IN THE HOME ENVIRONMENT
Led by: Rama Ratnam from U of I and Julia Biernot, MD from OSF HealthCare
Falls are a leading cause of serious injury and death in the elderly. There is a need to find a cost-efficient and easy means of evaluating fall risks, identifying muscle weaknesses, and establishing the potential for loss of balance in the home. Further, there is an equal need to train clinicians to evaluate elderly patients at risk for falling, and to better identify fall risk from postural and movement analysis.
Engineers with the U of I have developed a home-based tele-rehabilitation system that is inexpensive and capable of accurately recording and analyzing posture and balance during movement transitions. Researchers will test the validity of this system against a standardized method of determining fall risk.
The goal is for the system to allow for targeted intervention in an individual’s home and to better train clinicians in fall risk assessment, offering unparalleled opportunities to examine body dynamics in great detail and better understand postural control.
