From news@cgrg.ohio-state.edu Thu Feb 2 07:36:53 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.32 ) id AA24186; Thu, 2 Feb 95 07:36:53 -0800 Received: from hitl-new.hitl.washington.edu by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA23588; Thu, 2 Feb 95 07:36:52 -0800 Received: by hitl.hitl.washington.edu; id AA02769; Thu, 2 Feb 1995 07:32:55 -0800 Received: from rodan.UU.NET by relay1.UU.NET with SMTP id QQybja22299; Thu, 2 Feb 1995 10:36:38 -0500 Received: from relay3.UU.NET by rodan.UU.NET with SMTP id QQybja18390; Thu, 2 Feb 1995 10:36:39 -0500 Received: from mane.cgrg.ohio-state.edu by relay3.UU.NET with SMTP id QQybja20342; Thu, 2 Feb 1995 10:36:43 -0500 Received: (from news@cgrg.ohio-state.edu) by mane.cgrg.ohio-state.edu (8.6.9/941010.52) id KAA23785; Thu, 2 Feb 1995 10:32:50 -0500 To: sci-virtual-worlds@rodan.uu.net Path: mac175.osc.edu!user From: davew@osc.edu (David Whitehead) Newsgroups: comp.sys.super,sci.engr.biomed,sci.virtual-worlds,sci.virtual-worlds.apps,sci.med,comp.ai.vision,comp.cad.pro-engineer,alt.cyberspace,comp.parallel Subject: VR Anesthesiology Date: 2 Feb 1995 15:32:50 GMT Organization: Ohio Supercomputer Center Lines: 52 Message-Id: Nntp-Posting-Host: mac175.osc.edu Status: OR February 2, 1995 For Immediate Release Contact: Cheryl Johnson, (614)292-6067 fax: (614)292-7168 cjohnson@osc.edu Virtual Reality and Anesthesiology OSC Research Team at Medicine Meets Virtual Reality III Ohio State University Hospitals' John S. McDonald, M.D., presented Virtual Reality Technology Applied to Anesthesiology at the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality III Conference in San Diego, California, on January 19-22, 1995. Dr. McDonald is part of an Ohio Supercomputer Center research team that is investigating the use of virtual reality in medical training. Other members of the project team include OSC Research Scientist Don Stredney and Immersion Corporation's Louis B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. The presentation focused on the team's research in creating and testing a virtual simulator for use in training medical students in the use of regional anesthesia, in particular, specific issues and problems of epidural anesthesiology. This training simulator allows the person administering the anesthesia to "feel" the various tissue levels as the needle progresses towards the spinal column. There is no method of training residents on this delicate and dangerous manual task except on live patients. In addition, teaching this technique has a highly intensive tutorial demand and presents a significant learning curve in regard to understanding exact placement of the needle. According to Stredney, "Epidural anesthesiology is one of the most frequently used techniques for the relief of pain during surgery. By providing a new form of training, the simulator will increase the proficiency level of the user in technique delivery and improve the competency required for use on humans." The topic for this year's conference was Interactive Technology and the New Paradigm for Healthcare. This conference allows participants to learn how leading-edge interactive technologies will affect the future of medical and surgical practice by improving access, quality, and continuity of health care, while reducing cost. This is the first international forum for medicine and interactive technology to interface and guide the future of health care. The OSC is chartered to advance the use of high performance computing and digital communications on the Information Superhighway. OSC addresses the technology-related needs of Ohio's academic, industry, and research communities through varied initiatives including biomedical technology, visualization, support of k-12 and higher education, high-speed networking, information storage, industrial outreach, and public service. -30-