Going through this week, my main focus was on the clinical implementation projects for this coming year. Our team met to discuss the MilkyWaves project, which Hannah and Christine are leading, with local contacts here in Costa Rica. Hearing more about the project, how it has progressed over the past few years, and the changes that have been made put the project into perspective for the coming year, and I am excited to work on it and support it. I am lead on the project Mind oVR matter with Carolyne. This project focuses on using virtual reality to help with the clinical needs finding portion of the GMI program. The clinical ethnography portion of the program occurs in the first couple weeks in the fall and allows for students to go into operating rooms and watch procedures. Watching these procedures, students look for needs that are unmet and can be designed for. They bring these needs back into the design course and iterate on them. Additionally, the VR is being looked at to use for anatomical visualization, medical device design, and surgical simulations. The clinical needs finding aspect of the VR is being explored first because it will hopefully provide the most benefit to the GMI program and will be the easiest to implement. The plan for using the VR this way is to place cameras into operating rooms for both animal and human procedures. Giving students a VR experience in these procedures allows them to rewatch and find new needs, pause and replay portions of procedures, and watch more procedures. Also, the goal is to collaborate with multiple hospitals in order to get perspectives from across the country and not just in Houston. I am excited to start the institutional review board (IRB) approval process this coming year and learn how to place the cameras in the operating rooms. This project is meaningful to me because I will be able to create a VR experience that can support GMI students for years to come. I hope to explore the other aspects outside of the clinical ethnography this year in order to make the VR system a tool for anatomical, surgical, and medical device design.
Hiking through the cloud forest
This weekend we went to Monteverde, the cloud forest. It was amazing to hike through the forest and be surrounded by lush green trees and plants, and then be up in the clouds when the path opened up. The hike is at such a high elevation that we were surrounded by clouds. We saw the continental divide (covered by clouds, but we were there!), a hanging bridge, and a waterfall. The hanging bridge was my favorite from my morning hike as we were literally hanging in the sky above the cloud forest and able to see it from above. At night we went on a hike to try and find nocturnal animals. We were able to see a tarantula, sloth, baby boa constrictor, birds, and frogs. Hiking and seeing all the animals at night were the highlights of this weekend. These weekend trips have been a great way to reset for the week and explore Costa Rica while also getting to spend time and get to know my teammates. The time has flown by and, with only two weeks left here in Costa Rica, I am looking forward to exploring and experiencing this country one last weekend.
Hanging bridge in Monteverde