thedrifter
02-13-07, 07:35 AM
Virtual doctors
Medical sims prove difficult for designers
By Michael Peck - Staff writer
Posted : February 19, 2007
No less than pilots, the Navy believes, doctors can benefit from simulators as they prepare for their fast-paced, unforgiving jobs. But the designers of medical simulations, many of whom come out of the video game industry, are facing a bit of culture shock as they adapt to new needs and new concepts.
“When you talk with a doctor, specific words mean different things. Even the word ‘scenario’ means something different,” said Ed Fletcher, executive producer at Baltimore-based Breakaway Games, which is designing “Pulse!!” a medical simulation for the Navy’s Office of Naval Research.
The difference is more than cultural. Entertainment games don’t need to be so detailed. As long as a digital Formula One racer or M1 tank resembles its real-life counterpart, the average gamer is satisfied. But the threshold for a surgical simulation is immensely higher.
“The biggest problem with medical simulations is the patient and the physiology have to be so detailed,” said Fletcher, who has worked on sports games and flight simulations such as “Wayne Gretzky Hockey” and “1942: Pacific Air War.” “There are people out trying to do physiology models at the cellular level. Of course, you need a Cray supercomputer and three weeks to do a 20-minute simulation.”
“Pulse!!” takes a different approach. Although it resembles a video game — Fletcher calls it a first-person healer — it is a technology prototype to prove the possibility of simulating the entire body, rather than creating simulations that model specific parts. The goal is a platform that can be easily customized for medical personnel ranging from corpsmen to first-year residents.
“We’re trying to create something that allows you to do a large number of problems, all on a laptop that costs $2,000,” Fletcher said.
“Pulse!!” handles the complexity of modeling the human body by using the tried-and-true simulation technique of focusing on key areas.
Thus, a scenario that concentrates on the human circulatory system will provide more detail on blood flow and less detail on kidney functions. Perfect accuracy is not possible given the limitations of time, budget, computing power and limited knowledge of human physiology. If the goal of the scenario is teaching a lesson on the circulatory system, simplifying kidney functions isn’t a problem.
“What you do is make it so the error in there is not discernible,” Fletcher said.
Although “Pulse!!” has an ambitious goal of simulating the whole body, other simulations are more narrowly focused. “Tactical Combat Casualty Care” is aimed at military health care specialists, especially corpsmen. It resembles a first-person shooter, although the corpsmen — who are armed — will do more healing than shooting.
“TC3” will be used for programmed instruction at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as well as being available on Army Knowledge Online for medics who need continuing education credits, said Waymon Armstrong, chief executive of Engineering & Computer Simulations, based in Orlando, Fla. The contract has cost about $1 million over the past three years.
A demonstration provided to Marine Corps Times had several scenarios, including short episodes during which the medic must immediately treat specific wounds on casualties, as well as a longer patrol through the streets of Baghdad.
Possible wounds include burns, amputation, trauma and gunshots. Different wounds will have various effects on the body. For example, “We can’t have an amputation on the neck, but we can represent maxo-facial wounds with an obstructed airway,” TC3 project engineer Howard Mall said.
When the medic stands over the casualty, large boxes flash on the screen offering a variety of options, such as check pulse, cover wound and clear airways. A short scenario of TC3 can be completed in about 10 minutes, Armstrong said.
One feature that will prove key to any military medical simulation is live-virtual-constructive capability.
The Stand-Alone Patient Simulator mannequins under development by the Army’s Research and Development Command for medics may have a link to marksmanship trainers, the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Simulation technology tool and other virtual training devices, said Debra Marsden, a medical simulation project director at the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.
“If a hit is detected, you could see the location of the wound, download that data into the simulator and the simulator would show symptoms,” she said.
Cubic Corp’s Mk8 laser engagement system can be used for medical training, spokeswoman Jan Stevens said. When a soldier in a live exercise suffers a simulated wound, medics have a specified period of time to treat their patient. The Mk8 works with radio frequency identification devices that are activated when the medic starts his procedure and then record how long the treatment takes.
The results can be fed into the postexercise after-action review. So far, Australia is the only nation using Cubic’s medical system, through the Australian LAND-134 training system.
Ellie
Medical sims prove difficult for designers
By Michael Peck - Staff writer
Posted : February 19, 2007
No less than pilots, the Navy believes, doctors can benefit from simulators as they prepare for their fast-paced, unforgiving jobs. But the designers of medical simulations, many of whom come out of the video game industry, are facing a bit of culture shock as they adapt to new needs and new concepts.
“When you talk with a doctor, specific words mean different things. Even the word ‘scenario’ means something different,” said Ed Fletcher, executive producer at Baltimore-based Breakaway Games, which is designing “Pulse!!” a medical simulation for the Navy’s Office of Naval Research.
The difference is more than cultural. Entertainment games don’t need to be so detailed. As long as a digital Formula One racer or M1 tank resembles its real-life counterpart, the average gamer is satisfied. But the threshold for a surgical simulation is immensely higher.
“The biggest problem with medical simulations is the patient and the physiology have to be so detailed,” said Fletcher, who has worked on sports games and flight simulations such as “Wayne Gretzky Hockey” and “1942: Pacific Air War.” “There are people out trying to do physiology models at the cellular level. Of course, you need a Cray supercomputer and three weeks to do a 20-minute simulation.”
“Pulse!!” takes a different approach. Although it resembles a video game — Fletcher calls it a first-person healer — it is a technology prototype to prove the possibility of simulating the entire body, rather than creating simulations that model specific parts. The goal is a platform that can be easily customized for medical personnel ranging from corpsmen to first-year residents.
“We’re trying to create something that allows you to do a large number of problems, all on a laptop that costs $2,000,” Fletcher said.
“Pulse!!” handles the complexity of modeling the human body by using the tried-and-true simulation technique of focusing on key areas.
Thus, a scenario that concentrates on the human circulatory system will provide more detail on blood flow and less detail on kidney functions. Perfect accuracy is not possible given the limitations of time, budget, computing power and limited knowledge of human physiology. If the goal of the scenario is teaching a lesson on the circulatory system, simplifying kidney functions isn’t a problem.
“What you do is make it so the error in there is not discernible,” Fletcher said.
Although “Pulse!!” has an ambitious goal of simulating the whole body, other simulations are more narrowly focused. “Tactical Combat Casualty Care” is aimed at military health care specialists, especially corpsmen. It resembles a first-person shooter, although the corpsmen — who are armed — will do more healing than shooting.
“TC3” will be used for programmed instruction at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as well as being available on Army Knowledge Online for medics who need continuing education credits, said Waymon Armstrong, chief executive of Engineering & Computer Simulations, based in Orlando, Fla. The contract has cost about $1 million over the past three years.
A demonstration provided to Marine Corps Times had several scenarios, including short episodes during which the medic must immediately treat specific wounds on casualties, as well as a longer patrol through the streets of Baghdad.
Possible wounds include burns, amputation, trauma and gunshots. Different wounds will have various effects on the body. For example, “We can’t have an amputation on the neck, but we can represent maxo-facial wounds with an obstructed airway,” TC3 project engineer Howard Mall said.
When the medic stands over the casualty, large boxes flash on the screen offering a variety of options, such as check pulse, cover wound and clear airways. A short scenario of TC3 can be completed in about 10 minutes, Armstrong said.
One feature that will prove key to any military medical simulation is live-virtual-constructive capability.
The Stand-Alone Patient Simulator mannequins under development by the Army’s Research and Development Command for medics may have a link to marksmanship trainers, the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Simulation technology tool and other virtual training devices, said Debra Marsden, a medical simulation project director at the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.
“If a hit is detected, you could see the location of the wound, download that data into the simulator and the simulator would show symptoms,” she said.
Cubic Corp’s Mk8 laser engagement system can be used for medical training, spokeswoman Jan Stevens said. When a soldier in a live exercise suffers a simulated wound, medics have a specified period of time to treat their patient. The Mk8 works with radio frequency identification devices that are activated when the medic starts his procedure and then record how long the treatment takes.
The results can be fed into the postexercise after-action review. So far, Australia is the only nation using Cubic’s medical system, through the Australian LAND-134 training system.
Ellie