As you all know, I'm working on a summer research project with the surgical robots and I thought it was about time that I gave y'all an update on how things are going. As you might have guessed from the title, things are up and down and back again. Each day is a new day with new struggles and new successes.
Below is a picture of the main player of the project: the Raven robot. It was designed by the biorobotics engineering team at UW thanks to some incredible grant money from the NIH and the US Department of Defense. There are only 7 of these babies in existence (3 at UW and the rest scattered around Harvard, UC Berkley and one other place I can't remember). And I get to work with one of them!
It might not look like much in this picture what with the cords running every-which-way and the miscellaneous boxes and ladders in the background but what real masterpiece starts out in a gloriously clean and fitting setting anyway right? Lately, the challenges have been cropping up left and right with the Raven leaving me feeling completely helpless and defeated on some days.
In case you need a recap, the goal of my project is to determine whether or not medical students can train on the Raven robot and have those skills transfer to abilities on the da Vinci surgical robot that is currently in use in hospitals across the country. I've got a total of 31 subjects enrolled in the study and am continually recruiting more. The subjects have to come in to the biorobotics lab and complete a simple block transfer task where they pick up a block on one side of a peg board, transfer it to their opposite "hand" in mid-air and put it down on the opposite side of the peg board. Now, here's the tough part -- they need to get to a point where they can do this in 2 minutes and 4 seconds or less to be considered "proficient." Tom and I got into a little unofficial competition with it and let the record show that I've got him beat. My record time thus far: 1 min 37 seconds. Tom's best is close to 1:50. Score: Deanna 1, Tom 0. Just kidding honey!
Anyway, getting proficient is tough enough as it is...but when the robot periodically breaks down to the point that it even stumps the engineers, I'm left feeling even more helpless as I watch as the guys troubleshoot their way out of the problem....sometimes...other times I have to cancel my scheduled subject trials for the day and try not to pull my hair out.
If only I had taken a computer science course or at least some "computer coding for dummies" at some point in my life! Then I would just be photographing this, I would be crawling around on the floor fixing it myself too!
The other half of the study, where subjects work on the da Vinci robot, is not without its kinks either. Now, the robot in and of itself is a little more predictable as far as how well it functions on a day to day basis but the availability of it is what is tricky. We have to schedule subjects when the robot is not being used in the OR and also when the physician I'm working with (Dr. Thomas Lendvay) is willing to stay AFTER his full shift at work in the OR to test subjects with me. Because (call him crazy) he isn't going to let me be in the OR at a hospital by myself with a 2.5+ million dollar machine!
Last weekend, Tom (of the Lendvay, not Glassman variety) and I went to work in the OR setting up the components of the study. Not only do we need to bring in a peg board with blocks as you see here:
But we also have to set up the software to record the x, y and z coordinates of the surgical instruments while the subjects perform the task. This is something that is not inherently set up with da Vinci-- it was yet another incredible invention by the engineers in the lab. Of course, it is not without it's fair share of cords, gizmo's and computers. Just hauling all this stuff up to the OR was a battle, let alone knowing how to get it all running properly.
But, with all of this, I can't help but remember a younger version of me 2-3 years ago when all this work I'm doing seemed like it would never be a reality. Who knew I'd get accepted to medical school and that I'd be able to work on such a dynamic project?
Anyway, last weekend, I got to sit down at the console of the da Vinci and give it a whirl while we were setting things up and let me tell you--I never wanted to leave! This thing is so smooth! And, just to set the record straight for Tom (Glassman) -- I did the block transfer task in 75 seconds on my first try, without warming up first! Too bad Tom will never get a crack at it since he wouldn't be allowed into the OR...We'll never know who would have won!
Having access to the OR is in fact one of the main draws that I have for my subjects. Some of these med students have never stepped foot in one and can't wait to do so (let alone to go and play with the robot!). And, of course, they're excited to donn their boufant caps and booties as well as these AWESOME onsies that we're required to wear on the off days. I didn't get a full-picture but they are "one-size-fits-no-one" and so incredibly flattering, believe me.
So, are we doing anything besides talking robots around here these days? Hardly. But sometimes we mix in real life too. We had to try to find an all wooden table for part of the Raven Project so we stopped by the Goodwill outlet on our way to the Mariner's Game on Saturday night. Even I couldn't believe the prices!
Then we headed back outdoors to some of the most gorgeous weather we've ever had and sat back for a 3.75 hour game--it was a marathon for me but filled with fun along the way.
For example, who couldn't have fun when you get to watch amazing dance skills like this?:
To end this ridiculously long post, I wanted to document how Tom had another milestone this week: his first day of law school. And, what kid can go to school on their first day without their photo being taken? You can see he was thrilled at first
But, he got with the program.
Here's to three more years and then who knows what!
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