University of Nebraska
Digital Pulse
iEXCEL's Newsletter 
Volume 2 Issue 4
May 17, 2016
Global leadership in transforming human performance & effectiveness in health care
Welcome to Digital Pulse!

Dear Colleagues,  

We are glad to share that the newly-structured iEXCEL Work Groups are in the process of being re-launched. These groups are truly interdisciplinary, including the leadership. The first groups will be: 'Education & Clinical Outcomes' and 'Research'. These will be followed by establishing the 'Communications & Outreach' group and the expansion of the 'Business Development' group.  

This issue also shares exciting progress being made with the Global Center, and we are extremely grateful to the members of the Design Groups for contributing their expertise to ensure the new Center will fulfill the iEXCEL vision and mission. High on the list is the need for the Global Center to be extremely flexible, adaptable and sustainable for the future. In addition, we thank the many faculty and students, especially the Sorrell Simulation Center staff, who have engaged in meeting with potential donors and industry collaborators. This project truly takes a large and committed team.

Building upon some of the early UNMC initiatives to incorporate visualization such as VERT, Anatomage, driving simulators and screen-based surgical simulators, we have launched deeper into visualization with the installation of the MultiTaction iWall. This technology is currently being incorporated into curricula by some of our early adopter faculty, staff and students.

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Progress: The Global Center

Global Center Design: The iEXCEL leadership team along with UNMC Facilities Management & Planning and the project architects and integrators have conducted a series of meetings with groups of interprofessional faculty and staff to gather input on the design and functionality of the new Global Center. Design group members were selected from UNMC and Nebraska Medicine based on their current scope of practice and placed into one of four design groups: Advanced Clinical Simulation, Surgical Skills, 3D/Virtual Reality Simulation, and Technology Development & Transfer.

Timeline:  The architectural plans will go before the Design Review Board in June and the Board of Regents in July.

Fundraising: Fundraising efforts continue with the goal of meeting the total construction and technology costs by the time the final plans are presented to the Board of Regents. Our thanks to The University of Nebraska Foundation for their tireless efforts on behalf of iEXCEL and our extreme gratitude to our supporters who have already contributed significantly towards our goal.

Technology News and Advancements
The iEXCEL Visualization Hub  

Adding to the MultiTaction iWall in MSC 1012, the "Hub" will soon serve as a resource to develop 3D / Virtual Immersive Reality content for enhancing curriculum development and research. Content developed will be shown on the new 3D CADwall, iBench, and / or iMirror, all arriving in June.  Content can be computer-based, extended to a CAVE or DOME type of immersive environment and has the potential to be extended to app development.

Visualization Hub Technology : The new technology will include a 3D Stereoscopic CADwall; Developer Workstations with EON Reality's 3D software modules; iBench Mobile ; and the  iMirror.

Location :  The Visualization Hub is located in the Michael F. Sorrell Center, Room 1012.

Timing*:  
                 Anticipated Delivery:  Late  June / mid-July
                 Anticipated Installation: Late July
                 Anticipated Training:   Early to mid August

*As we get closer to delivery, more exact timeframes and a detailed update will be provided. 
MultiTaction iWall
Enhancing the Learning Experience
Thanks to our early adopter faculty, staff and student efforts, the iWall is already being creatively incorporated into curriculum and used for events. 
Dr. Norgrens class 033116
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy Uses iWall

Dr. Robert Norgren, Professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy in the College of Medicine,  incorporated the iWall into his  M1  Neuroscience Core.

“Students were introduced to the iWall in the first Laboratory Session where they examined and tested themselves on Neurohistory images. One of the nice features of the iWall is that students can use a stylus to draw directly on the images. This feature was useful for reviewing neural pathways.”                
- Dr. Norgren

UNMC Makers Club Works On iWall

Teams of four high school students from the Omaha-Council Bluffs area competed in a 12-hour Invent-a-thon to design and 3D print a solution to a real-world healthcare problem. The event was presented by the UNMC Makers club, the McGoogan Library of Medicine and UNeMed. 

"The UNMC Makers were extremely fortunate to be able to use the iEXCEL MultiTaction iWall for the NE SciFest Invent-a-thon. The MultiTaction iWall proved to be a versatile and powerful platform which not only enhanced the overall viewing experience of our presentations, but also promoted interactive brainstorming sessions among our teams of high schoolers,"                                             - Tyler Scherr, PhD Candidate, Pathology & Microbiology; Officer, UNMC Makers Club
Interprofessional Education Course Uses iWall

Medical Nutrition and Diagnostic Medical Sonography students used the iWall in April during their IPE Course: "Following the Growth of Sarah's Baby." The course was taught by the interdisciplinary team of Corrie Hansen, PhD, LMNT, FAND; Cindy Schmidt, MD, MLS; Tanya Custer, MS, RT(R)(T); Kim Michael, MA, RT(R), RDMS, RVT; and Teri Hartman, MLS.

Not only was the iWall used to present lecture material, it was also used interactively, with students working at the iWall in groups to review a case study, write  answers on the wall and draw the different types of intrauterine growth restrictions. Students enjoyed being able to go back into the "bubbles" to review information for helping make a diagnosis. Thus, the iWall offered great opportunities for active learning with students up and out of their chairs, interacting with other professional students and using creative approaches to help each other arrive at  the correct diagnosis.

The team of Michael, Schmidt, Hanson, Custer, and Hartman created the IPE course development project in December 2015. This project was awarded funds by the UNMC IPE Curriculum Committee, and led by Devin Nickol, MD., Assistant Dean of Interprofessional Education. Kate Wampler, BS, RT(R), RDMS, RVT, Clinical Education Coordinator, Diagnostic Medical Sonography Department; and Samantha List, MS, RD, LMNT, Clinical Nutrition Therapist at Nebraska Medicine, were additional course advisors. 
Events

Disney Engineer Visits UNMC and iEXCEL

UNMC and iEXCEL invited Michael Tschanz, Director of Technology and Analysis at The Walt Disney Company, to speak at the 2016 Breakthrough Thinking Conference and also to engage with a variety of departments at UNMC. Mr. Tschanz is an engineer, previously from the aerospace industry, who has helped reshape the Disney theme parks through model-based design.

Michael Tschanz met with CAST Lab staff on March 22, 2016, to learn more about surgical robotics and technology. In the photo above, they are looking at a prototype miniature surgical robot developed under the Robotic Telesurgery Research project with the Department of Defense. Shown above from left to right are Lou Cubrich, graduate student from UNL, Michael Tschanz, Director of Technology and Analysis at Walt Disney World, and Dimitry Oleynikov, Director for Center for Advanced Surgical Technology. 

Acknowledgement: This research project was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs under Award No. W81XWH-14-1-0058.

Exploring Holographic Technology Opportunities          with EventWorks 4D

Chancellor Gold and guests visited EventWorks 4D in Cleveland, Ohio on April 14, 2016 to learn more about holographic technology. EW4D’s live and interactive holographic technologies, whether large or small, present stunning holographic images that are quite indistinguishable from real life.  

3D visualization allows us to present images previously limited to the imagination. A hologram audience is no longer tied to 2D screens or lenticular glasses to visualize 3D content. Today’s holographic technology provides freedom to see the visual magic with the naked eye!
Click the image to see holographic theater videos from Eventworks 4D
 Outreach

Statewide Outreach: 

The iEXCEL leadership team recently visited Scottsbluff and Grand Island to learn more about the great state of Nebraska and discuss current and future relationships with the VA as well as community colleges and hospitals.

The team was joined by Ed Bope, MD, FAAFP, VHA Office of Academic Affiliations, GME Affiliations Officer, who explored opportunities for primary care residency expansion.
iEXCEL leaders and Dr. Bope visited the Omaha VA to tour their simulation lab and explore opportunities for collaboration. 

National Outreach:

Dr. Boyers presented at a Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives Forum in Detroit, Michigan in April. Her presentation, “A Transformative Model for Healthcare Education & Training: Applying Lessons Learned from Industry,” focused on the need for a new approach to educate healthcare professionals in order to improve patient care outcomes, including the reduction of medical errors. 
In Closing...

As always, thank you for your continued interest, support and engagement with iEXCEL. Please reach out to us with feedback, questions or concerns. We read and respond to all suggestions, thoughts and insights. 

Sincere Regards – Pam Boyers, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor, iEXCEL

 
Please keep in mind that we would appreciate your input! For example, if there is an area of focus that you believe should be included in our newsletter, please do not hesitate to share your thoughts or recommendations by  emailing  [email protected] .