Collaborative Research: US IGNITE: EAGER: Exploring Ultrafast Networks for Training Surgeons Using virtual-Reality Based Environments

该项目将开发和演示新的基于虚拟现实的应用程序，用于使用全球网络创新环境（GENI）基础设施和功能培训住院医生和医生的显微外科技术。微外科虚拟环境将使学生学习处理软组织的适当方法，并发展成为合格的微外科医生所需的手术技能。目前，外科培训通常仅限于面对面的情况，即专家外科医生和学员在同一个房间里执行复杂的程序，通常是在尸体上。由于国内大部分地区没有显微外科技术方面的专家，因此许多医科学生很难得到这种培训。新的基于虚拟现实的外科培训应用程序将通过消除专家和受训者共同定位的需要来解决这一挑战。geni支持的超高速网络功能将被用于演示一项突破性应用，德克萨斯州埃尔帕索的显微外科专家将向俄克拉荷马州和威斯康星州的住院医生授课。该应用程序将利用基于云的框架，允许其他站点轻松集成到系统中，以便在许多分布地点的学员可以同时接受培训。更广泛的影响：通过虚拟现实环境为分布在不同地点的学生提供专业外科培训的能力，可以彻底改变主要卓越中心以外的医学教育。该项目将通过提供专业培训和不受地域限制地接受高等教育来解决获得专门保健的问题。该项目还为更重要的远程医疗应用奠定了基础，在这些应用中，医生提供包括外科和非手术会诊在内的保健服务，其中可能包括与远方的同行医生和/或患者会诊。

This project will develop and demonstrate new virtual reality based applications for training medical residents and doctors in microsurgical techniques using the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) infrastructure and capabilities. The microsurgical virtual environment will enable students to learn the appropriate way of handling the soft tissues and developing the needed surgical skills needed to become competent micro surgeons. Currently, surgical training is usually limited face-to-face situations where the expert surgeon and the trainees are in the same room performing intricate procedures, typically on cadavers. Since the experts in microsurgical techniques are not available in most parts of the country, such training is not readily available to many medical students. The new virtual reality based surgical training application will address this challenge by eliminating the need for the experts and the trainees to be co-located. The GENI-enabled ultra-fast networking capabilities will be exploited to demonstrate a breakthrough application where a microsurgical expert in El Paso, Texas will teach medical residents in Oklahoma and Wisconsin. The application will exploit cloud-based framework to allow other sites to be easily integrated into the system so that trainees at many distributed locations can be trained simultaneously.Broader Impact:The ability to provide specialized surgical training to students in distributed locations through a virtual reality environment can revolutionize medical education outside of major centers of excellence. The project will address issues of access to specialized health care by providing specialist training and access to higher education without geographical limitations. This project also lays the foundation for more significant telemedicine applications in which doctors offer healthcare services including surgical and non surgical consultations which can include consultations with peer doctors and/or patients at distant locations.