Radiology Innovation

WITH GRATITUDE FROM OUR TEAM

The Michigan Medicine Department of Radiology is unique in our mission to advance the field, and your support is the fuel that powers this engine of innovation. By partnering with us, you enable initiatives such as the Radiology Clinical Innovation and Value Challenge and help evolve ideas into something more. We are always trying to improve, and I feel fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of physicians, scientists, and technicians. Your generosity helps us to develop ideas into solutions for patient care. We are all deeply grateful for that support.

With best regards,

Richard Brown, M.D.

Professor, Radiology

Division of Nuclear Medicine

CLINICAL INNOVATION AND VALUE CHALLENGE

The Clinical Innovation and Value Challenge gives the radiology team the opportunity to submit ideas that add value through innovation and clinical care delivery redesign. This consists of an annual challenge that provides funding for two to three proposals, which are then reviewed by a group of experts from the department and university. Individuals from our radiology section and the Fast Forward Medical Innovation team then select the most promising projects to be judged in a live forum. The participants’ projects span many initiatives, including inventions, products, services, or educational innovations and are completed with the collaborative efforts of a faculty member. This promotes diverse and strong teams that include staff, trainees, and partners from outside the department.

HELPING OUR PATIENTS COPE WITH CONCERNS

The result of one of these projects is a collaboration between our radiology team, composed of Drs. Richard Brown, Jadranka Stojanovska, Matt Davenport, Ella Kazerooni, Elaine Caoili, and Dan Fessahazion, Sean Petty, Stephanie O’Malley, Theodore Hall and several students from the Duderstadt Emerging Technology Group. Together, they are developing a Virtual Reality (VR) tool that simulates the experience of having an MRI. This endeavor hopes to address MRI cancellations due to patients’ concerns about experiencing claustrophobia during the procedure. To experience an MRI without actually being in an MRI machine, patients put on a headset and are virtually transported to an MRI tube, which includes realistic sounds to simulate the exam experience. They are then talked through the process to alleviate fears and concerns. The team is currently conducting a clinical trial with the VR tool to accurately measure the benefits and results.

“With a well-designed extended reality experience, users feel fully present in the virtual environment, and this allows them to engage their senses and bodies in ways that are difficult if not impossible to achieve with conventional screen-based interactive experiences. We’ve seen examples of how this kind of immersion can dramatically aid the communication and comprehension of otherwise challenging concepts.”

Mark W. Newman, Associate Professor of Information and Associate, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

TEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION OF DOCTORS

VR is an incredible tool in patient care, and its counterpart, Augmented Reality (AR), also has incredible teaching potential for our learners. The radiology and Duderstadt team is developing an AR tool for this purpose. They envision that the AR tool will help health care professionals learn how to perform biopsies on virtual patients, as Dr. Elaine Caoili demonstrates in the photos to the right. This will enable our physicians, residents, and other learners to hone their skills in a safe environment and continue to provide our patients with the best care possible.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP!