Collaborative Reseearch: 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，利用全球网络创新环境(GENI)的基础设施和能力对住院医师和医生进行显微外科技术培训。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法，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，即专家外科医生和受训人员在同一个房间里执行复杂的程序，通常是在身体上。由于全国大部分地区都没有显微外科技术方面的专家，许多医科学生也不容易接受这样的培训。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处一地的需要来应对这一挑战。将利用GENI支持的超高速联网功能来演示一项突破性应用，德克萨斯州埃尔帕索的一名显微外科专家将在俄克拉何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，允许其他站点轻松集成到系统中，以便多个分散地点的受训人员可以同时接受培训。广泛的影响：通过虚拟现实环境为分散地点的学生提供专门的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科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，在远程医疗应用中，医生提供包括手术和非手术咨询在内的医疗服务，其中可以包括与同行医生和/或远程患者的咨询。

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.