‘Surgery and Engineering’
Immersive clinical training elevates engineering PhD programs
Oct. 21, 2021—VISE alumni positioned to transform medical procedures In working with clinicians, Winona Richey gained big-picture knowledge of workflow, patient experience and existing technology in the operating room. The interactions sparked ideas to improve tumor marking and surgery for breast cancer. Carli DeJulius shadowed a rheumatologist and multiple orthopedic surgeons at Vanderbilt University Medical Center clinics...
Less invasive procedure to reduce epilepsy seizures
Oct. 18, 2021—For individuals with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy, open brain surgery is the current standard of care to reduce seizures, and four of every five patients remain seizure-free after the procedure. But perceived risks of a craniotomy make many patients and referring physicians hesitant. More than 90 percent of U.S. patients who could benefit don’t pursue...
Engineering doctoral students experience paradigm-shifting clinical training in surgery and intervention
Aug. 27, 2021—Trainees gain big picture knowledge plus work closely with surgeons The results are in: Five cohorts of Vanderbilt engineering doctoral students have experienced ‘paradigm-shifting training’ in surgery and intervention. Preliminary reports from a five-year program of intensive training, supported by a nearly $1 million National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering grant, show strong evidence...
Customized CI programming targets improved auditory nerve stimulation
Oct. 1, 2020—Cochlear implants can help someone with serious hearing loss better understand human speech, converse on the phone, enjoy music and watch television. When successful, the device allows a user to perceive different types of sounds, such as doors slamming and dogs barking. In the United States, however, it is estimated that only 10 percent of...
Targeting chronic pain
Oct. 1, 2020—A team of Vanderbilt engineers, clinicians and imaging scientists is developing a focused ultrasound neuromodulation device as a non-invasive and non-addictive method for treating chronic pain. The device will look like an MRI head coil and combine functional MRI with ultrasound neuromodulation. The combination will allow researchers to simultaneously alter neuronal activity in brain regions associated...