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'Mixed Reality' Human Helps Medical Students Learn to Do Intimate Exams
GAINESVILLE,Fla.,Jun23,2009(ASCRIBENEWSviaCOMTEX)--
"What
bringsyouintoseemetoday?"
"Partofmyleftbreasthasbeenpainfulforawhile."
"CanyouliedownsothatIcanexamineyou?"
Itsoundslikeasnippetofconversationbetweendoctor
andpatient.Butthedoctor,inthisrecentexchangeatthe
UniversityofFloridacampus,wasactuallyanengineering
doctoralstudent--andthepatienta"mixedrealityhuman"
composedofalife-sizedcomputeravataronaflatscreen
andamannequinwithaprostheticbreast.
Intimateproceduressuchasbreastexams,whilearoutine
andcriticalpartofmedicalcare,arenotoriouslytoughto
teach.Medicalstudentspracticeondisembodiedprosthetics
buthavelimitedopportunitiestopracticeexamsonreal
people--especiallypatientswhohaveanabnormality.Ina
collaborationwiththeAugusta,Ga.-basedMedicalCollegeof
Georgiaandthreeotheruniversities,UFengineershave
craftedasolution:ahybridcomputer/mannequinthathelps
trainstudentsnotonlyhowtocorrectlyperformabreast
exam--butalsohowtotalkto,andgleaninformationfrom,
thepatientduringtheprocedure.
Theprojectisimportantbecausecorrectexaminationsand
gooddoctor-patientcommunicationarecriticaltosuccessful
medicaltreatment,saidBenjaminLok,aUFassistant
professorofcomputerandinformationsciencesand
engineeringwhoheadstheeffort.
"Studieshaveshownthatcommunicationskillsare
actuallyabetterpredictorofoutcomethanmedicalskills,"Loksaid.
Withthevirtualpatient,"allofasudden,
studentshavetonotonlypracticetheirtechnique,butthey
alsohavetoworkontheirempathy."
Themixedrealityhuman,namedAmandaJones,"talks"to
students,andtheyrespondviaacomputerspeechandvoice
recognitionsystemtailoredbydoctoralstudentAaron
Kotranza,Lokandothersontheteam.Herphysicalform--a
mannequin--isimmobile,buthervirtualrepresentation,
createdbytheengineers,movesandspeaksfromalargeflat
screenaboveherphysicalbody.StudentscanalsoviewJones
throughahead-mounteddisplay.
Theinteractionisunscripted,butitfollowsatypical
patternforawoman'svisitandexamination--withboth
verbalandtactilechallengesforthemedicalstudents.
ThestudentmustteaseoutJones'medicalhistory,listen
toherconcernsandrespondtoherquestions.Justasina
realexam,thisinteractionoccurssimultaneouslywiththe
physicalexamination.Forthat,thestudentmustusethe
correctpalpitatingtechniqueandapplytheproper
pressure.Sensorswithintheprostheticbreast--developed
byDr.CarlaPughatNorthwesternUniversity--provide
pressureinformationdepictedbycolorsonthevirtual
breast,guidingstudentsintheexams.Theengineerscan
programthesystemtoincludeorexcludeanabnormality--
andtheattendantconversation.
Itsoundsawkward,andtobesure,thespeechrecognition
elementhasitshiccups.
Butespeciallyforstudentsrearedinaneraof
sophisticatedthree-dimensionalvideogames,thesystem
turnsouttobesurprisinglyconvincing.Theresearchers
havetesteditonabout100medicalstudentssofar,all
fromtheMedicalCollegeofGeorgia,whereco-principal
investigatorDr.D.ScottLindisbased.Oneoftheirmost
consistentandprominentfindings:Studentsdonothesitate
toexpressempathytoJones.
"Wehavefoundthattheywilltrytocomfortthevirtual
human,"Kotranzasaid."They'lloftentouchthemannequinin
ordertocomforther."
Apilotstudyhasconcludedthatstudentswhopracticed
withamixedrealtyhumanimprovedtheircommunication
skillsandtheirtechnicalabilities,butmoretrialsare
neededtodeterminewhetherthoseskillspersistoncethe
studentsexaminerealpatients.
Thatsaid,itseemsobviousthatmorepracticestudents
get,thebetterofftheywillbe.Loksaidthemixedreality
patientisnotintendedtoreplacerealvolunteers-far
fromit.Butstudentstypicallyhaveonlyahandfulof
opportunitieswiththosevolunteersbeforegraduating.The
mixedrealitypatientcanaddtotheirtrainingwhilemaking
iteasierforteacherstohelpstudentswithboththeir
conversationalandmedicaltechniques.
"Whathappensifyoufindsomethinginawoman'sbreast?
Howdoyoutalktothepatient?"Lokasked."Studentshave
tosomehowbuildtheirdatabaseofexperience."
Whilethebreastexamresearchcontinues,theteamalso
intendstoexploreotherintimateexams.Nextinline:
prostateexams.Lokandthestudentsalreadyhave
prostheticstheyintendtocouplewithavirtualmale
patientsimilartothebreastexampatient.
Theotherinstitutionsparticipatingintheprojectare
theUniversityofCentralFlorida,theUniversityofGeorgia
andNorthwesternUniversity.Theresearch,partofalarger
effortinvolvinganumberofdifferentvirtualpatient
projects,issupportedbygrantsofabout$2.8million
primarilyfromtheNationalScienceFoundationandthe
NationalInstitutesofHealth.
----
CONTACTS:
Writer:AaronHoover,352-392-0186,ahoover@ufl.edu
Source:BenjaminLok,352-392-1492,lok@cise.ufl.edu
MULTIMEDIAAVAILABLE:
http://news.ufl.edu/2009/06/23/mixed-reality-human-multimedia/
((AScribe-ThePublicInterestNewswire/http://www.ascribe.org))
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