by Josef Bachmeier
Daily Lobo
Two UNM electrical engineering students are combining existing technologies with their own concepts in an attempt to create a new way of training medical personnel syringe injection techniques.
Daniel Derkacs and Bill Anderson's electrical engineering senior design class project is to write software for a needle simulator device based in virtual reality that someday could be a more effective tool than traditional cadavers.
"It's really cutting edge technology and has direct application," Marv Daniel, instructor for the Electrical Engineering program's senior design 420 class, said about his students' work. "I think there would be a demand for it."
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The pair's project uses the PHANToM, a pre-existing haptic device, to manipulate and control a 3-D computer-generated work environment.
In Derkacs and Anderson's project overview, they say haptic "refers to the sense of touch, as graphics refer to the sense of sight. In computers, haptics refers to the technology that allows people to use their sense of touch with a computer. Rather than working with traditional two-dimensional input devices such as a mouse, a three-dimensional, force feedback environment is used to simulate virtual objects found in the real world."
The pair's project is to design new software that interacts with the PHANToM. They attach a syringe to the end of the PHANToM's arm that completes the virtual reality software's equipment. Their program tells the computer and the PHANToM how to respond to the user of the syringe.
The PHANToM is a product of Novint Technologies Inc. CEO Tom Anderson, Bill's brother, helped the pair to identify a concept they could apply to the PHANToM.
"I was talking to Tom at Novint and he mentioned a needle simulator," Bill Anderson said. "Basically an epidermal simulator."
If the project is completed, Derkacs and Anderson will have a program that will simulate needle insertion into humans, an application, which as they expressed in their project overview, can be valuable in the medical field.
"Most medical students currently learn and practice medical procedures with cadavers, mannequins and animals," the pair states in their project overview. "Cadavers and mannequins do not realistically simulate live patient procedures, and are not efficient solutions due to their low availability and high cost. Conducting procedures on animals does not effectively mimic working with human anatomy and entails many ethical considerations. Designing a haptic needle simulator will provide a reliable, cost effective, clean and reusable way for students to learn the skills needed to reduce the risk of harming patients."
One of the largest areas of focus for the two project partners and two-year roommates was to simulate something doctors refer to as "loss of resistance effect," which occurs during human needle insertion.
"When the needle enters a cavity there is a loss of pressure," Bill Anderson said. "Our program simulates that loss of pressure in the syringe."
The two-man team has already set up a meeting with two anesthesiologists from UNM Hospital, John Wills and David Wilks, to tailor the device to its most precise and accurate state for actual medical use.
Regardless of its grade or future use, Anderson and Derkacs are satisfied with their project's progress -- so far.
"The first semester was extremely rough," Derkacs said. "But now it feels good. We're close to an actual running application. It will be extremely gratifying if it all works out."
Bill Anderson said he is happy that the project could eventually be used to help people.
"I think it's cool being able to actually do something that can help people," he said. "It can actually be used."
Although the team seems to be making progress, both members say there is still a large amount of work to be done before their May 5 presentation date.
"I've learned in engineering that it's easy to complete 99 percent of a project," Derkacs said. "But it's that one percent that can add an infinitesimal amount of work. I don't want to reap my benefits yet."
