- Title: 3D brain surgery simulator gets Hollywood treatment
- Date: 31st July 2017
- Summary: BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) 3D SIMULATORS IN LAB BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) DR. ALAN COHEN, NEUROSURGEON AND DEVELOPER OF 3D SIMULATOR FOR PRACTICING BRAIN SURGERY, EXPLAINING PROCEDURE ON BRAIN MODEL NAME PLAQUE ON DESK THAT READS, "DR. COHEN: MY HERO! LOVE, TONYA" VARIOUS OF ELVIS PRESLEY LAMPSHADE IN DR. COHEN'S OFFICE PAN SHOT OF BOOKSHELF FILLED WITH ELVIS PRESLEY MEMORABILIA VARIOUS OF ELVIS PRESLEY BOBBLE-HEAD DOLLS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DR. ALAN COHEN, NEUROSURGEON AND DEVELOPER OF 3D SIMULATOR, SAYING: "There are conventional ways that we teach minimally invasive neurosurgery: didactic lectures, videos, we have various fruits and vegetables that we operate on, and the standard way of teaching it is with cadavers. But cadavers are expensive; there are risks in working with cadavers; and the cadavers don't necessarily recapitulate the disorder that we're trying to treat, because a patient would have died from another condition." BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) INCISION IN TOP OF 3D SIMULATOR HEAD
- Embargoed: 14th August 2017 14:50
- Keywords: 3D brain surgery simulator Hollywood special effects FracturedFX Johns Hopkins Hospital Boston Children's Hospital
- Location: BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS / BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
- City: BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS / BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA0036S1T93V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: When a team of neurosurgeons and computer engineers set out to design a 3D simulator for practicing brain surgery, their goal was to make it as realistic as possible.
"It was not a long leap, ultimately, for us to reach out to our friends in Hollywood and say 'come on board,'" said Dr. Weinstock of Boston Children's Hospital. "We needed that kind of expertise to fill out what we were trying to accomplish in life-like, realistic rehearsal."
With the help of FracturedFX, an Emmy Award-winning special effects group, they created a full-scale reproduction of a 14-year-old child's head and brain, on which trainees can practice performing a delicate, minimally invasive, brain operation called endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV).
The procedure is used to treat hydrocephalus, one of the most common conditions seen in pediatric neurosurgery, in which there is excessive build-up of cerebrospinal fluid and pressure on the brain.
Neurosurgeons perform ETVs to re-route the fluid back into normal channels, eliminating the need to implant a lifelong shunt.
The simulator's developers hope their invention will help improve training of this procedure and others by offering a more true-to-life experience than the usual training tools, which include fruits and vegetables and cadavers.
"Cadavers are expensive; there are risks in working with cadavers; and the cadavers don't necessarily recapitulate the disorder that we're trying to treat, because a patient would have died from another condition," explained Dr. Alan Cohen, a co-developer of the simulator, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Known for playing his favorite Elvis Presley tunes in the operating room, Cohen added that practice, whether for a medical student or senior practitioner, is essential.
"The idea is kind of taking a practice swing before hitting a golf ball," he said.
While the developers boast that the simulator is a safe, realistic, reusable, and cost-effective way to train, Weinstock concedes that one of their biggest challenges is encouraging time-strapped health professionals to practice.
"In the end, there's good studies to show that once you do that the efficiency goes up, volume actually goes up, and outcomes improve," he said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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