Collaborative Reseearch: US IGNITE: EAGER: Exploring Ultrafast Networks for Training Surgeons Using Virtual Reality Based Environments

该项目将开发和展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）的基础设施和能力培训住院医生和医生的显微外科技术。显微外科虚拟环境将使学生能够学习处理软组织的适当方式，并发展成为合格的显微外科医生所需的外科技能。 目前，外科培训通常是有限的面对面的情况下，专家外科医生和受训者在同一个房间执行复杂的程序，通常在尸体上。由于国内大部分地区没有显微外科技术专家，许多医科学生无法随时获得这种培训。新的基于虚拟现实的手术培训应用程序将通过消除专家和学员共处一室的需求来解决这一挑战。 GENI支持的超快网络功能将被用来展示一个突破性的应用，德克萨斯州埃尔帕索的一位显微外科专家将在俄克拉荷马州和威斯康星州教授住院医师。该应用程序将利用基于云的框架，使其他网站可以轻松地集成到系统中，以便在许多分散的位置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散位置的学生提供专业手术培训的能力可以彻底改变主要卓越中心之外的医学教育。 该项目将通过提供专家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，医生提供医疗保健服务，包括手术和非手术咨询，其中可以包括与远方同行医生和/或患者的咨询。

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.