Health
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| Conjoined twins Maria Teresa Alvarez, left and Maria de Jesus Alvarez play in their hospital bed at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. |
Two sets of conjoined twins from Guatemala and the Philippines were separated recently. Because the patients’ small communities lacked the quality medical care needed to support this delicate procedure, the marathon surgeries were performed in the United States.
In the near future, though, patients might not have to travel great distances for these types of operations. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., are working with doctors on a computer system that might eventually allow high-tech surgeries to be performed in remote countries.
JPL computer engineers have created software that connects information from hospitals all over the world into one virtual pediatric intensive care unit. The system is designed to link doctors who need detailed information with researchers who are willing to share data about pediatric medicine. For example, a pediatrician in North Carolina who needs information about the most advanced treatment for a child with bone cancer could search the database for the latest medical studies conducted by researchers from all over the country.
The software, called Object Oriented Data Technology, was modeled after the Planetary Data System, a large software network that helps space scientists translate terminology used in local databases into standard language. Similar software is used to support the Mars Exploration Rovers, currently exploring the Martian environment.
“The problem has been that information has been generated for local use, and now scientists are discovering the value of sharing research within their various communities,” says Dan Crichton, JPL senior computer scientist. “This has been true in planetary science and biomedicine and, now, in pediatric medicine.”
With the expanded database, pediatricians can record patient information directly from bedside monitors, regardless of their location. The system stores the information so researchers can use it for clinical trials and for educating other doctors treating patients with similar illnesses.
The virtual pediatric intensive care unit is being developed and tested at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. This year, the system will be extended to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore and Cornell University Medical Center in New York.
“The goal of the virtual pediatric intensive care unit is to enable us to practice in one critical care unit, where we will all have the latest information available to care for critically ill children,” says Dr. Randall Wetzel, director of critical care medicine at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. “The fast-paced, compelling urgency, and the overwhelming diversity of diseases seen in children around the world, makes communication among caregivers life-saving and essential, but at the same time, difficult.”
The virtual pediatric intensive care unit is ideal for hospitals that lack advanced intensive care units. Over the next few years, engineers hope to install networked cameras allowing doctors to check on their patients in remote areas and assist their colleagues working in isolated centers.
“It is extremely rewarding to see this NASA-funded technology solving a problem of national importance,” says Dr. Ken Wolfenbarger, manager of JPL’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office. “As part of its mission, JPL welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with outside companies to develop and transfer dual-use technology through NASA’s Innovative Partnerships Program.”
There are about 275 pediatric intensive care units around the country. Every year approximately 50,000 infants and children who need constant care are admitted into these units.
For more information, contact Debora Avila, (818) 354-3829, debora.l.avila@jpl.nasa.gov.
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