Educational Aids for Intraoperative Neuromonitoring

DESCRIPTION (PROVIDED BY APPLICANT): This project proposes to develop a system that trains clinical personnel how to recognize and manage critical events that may be detrimental to the brain and spinal cord. Critical events may include surgical manipulations or events such as raised ICP or vasospasm in the intensive care unit. Our system will immerse the student into 3-D computer generated environments where they can experience the prelude and consequences of a critical event and learn how they might better recognize the signs and intervene to minimize damage. In Phase I, a prototype system was constructed to test concepts. The Phase II system will complete the development and testing of a full prototype with courses developed to teach the management of four critical events. There has recently been a focus on the number of errors made in patient care (To Err is Human, The Institute of Medicine, 1999). Better education focused on the management of critical events is believed to help reduce these errors especially in neuro patients where deficits can be disastrous. The development effort will make use of educational technology developed in the aviation industry and by the military and will combine that with our abilities to create realistic 3-D environments. The system will take advantage of re-usable and interoperable content allowing courseware to be developed and used for a wide range of audiences.