| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| DATE: | April 22, 2007 |
| CONTACT: | Dr. Claudia Johnston 361.825.2712; or Marshall Collins 361.825.2427 |
| Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to Demonstrate Virtual Clinical Learning Lab for American College of Surgeons | |
Dr. Claudia L. Johnston, Associate Vice President for Special Projects at A&M-Corpus Christi, will lead a Pulse!! demonstration team in an educational booth at the Paris Las Vegas hotel.
Pulse!! is a research project overseen by Dr. Johnston and panels of experts in medicine and learning theory. Pulse!! research tests the theory that high-fidelity virtual technology can provide effective medical learning. The Pulse!! learning platform employs state-of-the-art computer-game technologies to create a virtual environment within which users employ discrete medical knowledge and skills.
“We’re honored that the university has been invited to a meeting of this prestigious organization,” Dr. Johnston said. “It signals that the medical community is eager to explore Pulse!! technology as a way to meet future challenges to medical clinical education.”
Congress so far has invested almost $10 million in the project. Pulse!! has received enthusiastic support from U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi (27th Congressional District), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Readiness and Military Construction. Federal research funds have been appropriated to Pulse!! through the Office of Naval Research.
The project is of interest to military medical officials as a means of quickly training physicians and other medical personnel in new treatment methods to meet rapid changes in the nature and complexity of warfare injuries.
A&M-Corpus Christi has contracted commercial game developer BreakAway Ltd. of Hunt Valley, Md., to collaborate with the Office of Special Projects in producing a virtual environment that will simulate medical treatment in three-dimensional space with a level of visual fidelity never before attempted.
Founded in 1998, BreakAway is a leading developer of entertainment games, training simulations and development software for modeling, simulation, and visualization.
A&M-Corpus Christi and BreakAway have staffed a production studio at the University to produce the underlying Pulse!! computer code and build the responsive virtual environment that users will experience.
Dr. Johnston, meanwhile, has coordinated a learning and product evaluation process that will test not only the platform’s usability but also its educational effectiveness, which has been designed in accord with the rigorous standards of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).