Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
Case ReportsOur experience with virtual craniomaxillofacial surgery: planning, transference and validation.
Clinical application of virtual craniomaxillofacial surgery (VCMS) planning is demonstrated with four typical cases. An integral component to success is transferring the surgical plan to the operating environment within a reasonable time frame through the design and fabrication of surgical guides and implants.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
Network design for telemedicine--e-health using satellite technology.
Over the last decade various international Information and Communications Technology networks have been created for a global access to high-level medical care. OP 2000 has designed and validated the high-end interactive video communication system WinVicos especially for telemedical applications, training of the physician in a distributed environment, teleconsultation and second opinion. WinVicos is operated on a workstation (WoTeSa) using standard hardware components and offers a superior image quality at a moderate transmission bandwidth of up to 2 Mbps. ⋯ The development of virtual hospitals and digital medicine helps to bridge the digital divide between different regions of the world and enables equal access to high-level medical care. Pre-operative planning, intra-operative navigation and minimally-invasive surgery require a digital and virtual environment supporting the perception of the physician. As data and computing resources in a virtual hospital are distributed over many sites the concept of the Grid should be integrated with other communication networks and platforms.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
The relationship between hip flexion/extension and the sagittal curves of the spine.
The objective of this study was to develop a finite element model (FEM) in order to study the relationship between hip flexion/extension and the sagittal curves of the spine. A previously developed FEM of the spine, rib cage and pelvis personalized to the 3D reconstructed geometry of a patient using biplanar radiographs was adapted to include the lower limbs including muscles. ⋯ Additional simulations showed that the hamstrings and gluteal muscles were responsible for the transmission of hip flexion to pelvic rotation with the legs straight and flexed respectively, and the important influence of knee bending on lordosis modulation during lower limb positioning. The knowledge gained through this study is intended to be used to improve operative patient positioning.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
Optimizing a head-tracked stereo display system to guide hepatic tumor ablation.
Radio frequency ablation is a minimally invasive intervention that introduces -- under 2D ultrasound guidance and via a needle-like probe -- high-frequency electrical current into non-resectable hepatic tumors. These recur mostly on the periphery, indicating errors in probe placement. Hypothesizing that a contextually correct 3D display will aid targeting and decrease recurrence, we have developed a prototype guidance system based on a head-tracked 3D display and motion-tracked instruments. ⋯ Initial candidates were an augmented reality see-through head-mounted display and a virtual reality "fish tank" system. We describe the system requirements and explain how we arrived at the final decision. We show the operational guidance system in use on phantoms and animals.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
Initial implementation of mixed reality simulation targeting teamwork and patient safety.
Patient safety is one of the most pressing challenges of modern healthcare. Being a multifactorial problem, patient safety requires improvement interventions on multiple levels including individual, team and organization as a whole. ⋯ Each simulation session was followed by facilitated debriefing and teaching new team communication skills. Team performances were assessed by both direct observation and team's self-assessment where each team member assessed his or her own performance as well as the performance of all other team members (360 degree assessment).