Workshop: Doctoral Consortium at the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality (MMVR) 2010 Conference

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Clinical simulation is emerging at the forefront of technologies for teaching medical professionals without endangering patient safety. Because of tremendous strides in computer graphics, haptics, bioengineering, human computer interaction, and decision sciences, we are at the crux of an impending revolution in the field of clinical simulations. This revolution will be fueled by new researchers that focus in this area of specialization. The "Medicine Meets Virtual Reality" (MMVR) conference series, established in 1992, has evolved into an annual international event that promotes emerging data-centered technologies for medical care and education. The conference is independent of any professional association or institution; papers are selected on the basis of peer review by a committee of scientists and physicians (http://www.nextmed.com/mmvr_committee.html), and the conference proceedings are published by IOS Press (http://www.iospress.nl). Conference attendees are typically a mixture of computer scientists and engineers, physicians and surgeons, medical educators and students, military medicine specialists, and biomedical futurists. This makes for an audience that is interested in cutting edge science and promotes cross-cutting interdisciplinary studies in the area of clinical simulation. This is funding to support a research consortium (workshop) of approximately 12-15 promising doctoral students from the United States and abroad, along with distinguished research faculty. The event, the first of its kind to be associated with MMVR, will be held in conjunction with the MMVR18 conference which will take place January 14-16, 2010, in Newport Beach, California. The goal of the workshop is to guide students with their research theses, by providing specific feedback as well as broader advice on the research environment and its international dimensions. The workshop will take place on a single full day before the main conference begins. Students will present and discuss their research and get constructive feedback from a panel of about 6 leaders in the field, whose members include approximately equal numbers of prominent research faculty and experienced practitioners, and who represent multiple specialties and countries. At least one panelist will have a close relationship with industry, so students can acquire a better understanding of the commercial perspective. As an experimental activity, the workshop organizers plan to support the students and their academic pursuits beyond the conference, by developing a dedicated website along with a listserv that will link workshop participants together so they can continue to interact by sharing materials and interesting literature, discussing common concerns, etc. Thus, the workshop will promote development of a network of young researchers, which the organizers hope will serve as the basis for future collaborations. Broader Impacts: This workshop will have both technical and societal impact. From a technical perspective, it will serve to train and guide the next generation of researchers, who will address the myriad research questions facing the clinical simulation community. Computing and technology research has a major role to play in the need for a more efficient healthcare system. Clinical simulation has emerged as a major tool for the healthcare industry in training the next generation of medical professionals, enabling healthcare institutes to make complex decisions and provide state of the art clinical and ambulatory services. Training doctoral students in computer science and related areas to conduct the necessary basic research in clinical simulation is critical to the successful translation of this basic research to tools and techniques used in the healthcare arena. The workshop will have impact in the short term by providing young researchers with an avenue to interact with leaders in the field and hone their skills; panelists will provide timely feedback to students and help them shape their future research directions. From a societal perspective, the workshop will further the goals of designing human centered systems that enable patient safety, by laying the foundation for research that is grounded and intricately designed from its inception to address key research challenges facing the biomedical computing community.