This is the final week of Immersion. Overall, I was exposed to research and clinical observation in the fields of plastic surgery, oncology, and neurosurgery. This week I finalized the algorithm I have been working on and tested it on various images collected by members of the lab. I look forward to using this algorithm to analyze data and contribute to the progress of the experiments.
Dr. Prince hosted an interactive talk on Monday. It was formatted as follows: each student who attended was given a small case to examine in which he presented an image of a medical condition and we were to try to identify the imaging modality, relevant anatomy, and physical condition in the case. This was a good exercise in learning the process by which conclusions are derived from medical images of patients.
I attended the neurosurgery clinic this week and observed some final surgeries. Two procedures in particular stood out to me. The first procedure entailed endoscopic removal of a colloidal cyst from the third ventricle of a patient's brain. I have been extensively lectured on endoscope technology in my undergraduate curriculum so it was refreshing to see how truly powerful this technology can be in the OR. With a single, small incision in the skull, the surgeon was able to remove a cyst (which had been causing symptoms of headache, dizziness, and memory loss in the patient) without disrupting the integrity of the brain tissue. This, to me, represents an outstanding case of the coordination between biomedical engineering and medicine. The second case was the removal of a tumor from the brain of a pediatric patient. This surgery was much more risky and invasive, as a larger incision was made in order to access the tumor. One of the challenges with this type of tumor, although the tumor was not identified as malignant, is to remove all of it within one surgical procedure.
One of the most notable differences between the clinical and research worlds that I have identified is the push for translational research. I have observed that in order to push work to a translational forum or a clinical trial there is often a fine balance between basic (in vitro) studies and higher-risk animal or clinical trials. I am interested in learning how regulatory committees and groups attempt to standardize this procedure to produce the best possible outcome. This concept would be an interesting thing for future students to note during the Immersion term.
This will be my final mention of NYC food. First, I would recommend the gnocchi from 1742 Wine Bar and the falafel pita from Abaleh. Finally, we enjoyed some pretty great ice cream from Sedutto. Pictured here is the blueberry flavor.
Dr. Prince hosted an interactive talk on Monday. It was formatted as follows: each student who attended was given a small case to examine in which he presented an image of a medical condition and we were to try to identify the imaging modality, relevant anatomy, and physical condition in the case. This was a good exercise in learning the process by which conclusions are derived from medical images of patients.
I attended the neurosurgery clinic this week and observed some final surgeries. Two procedures in particular stood out to me. The first procedure entailed endoscopic removal of a colloidal cyst from the third ventricle of a patient's brain. I have been extensively lectured on endoscope technology in my undergraduate curriculum so it was refreshing to see how truly powerful this technology can be in the OR. With a single, small incision in the skull, the surgeon was able to remove a cyst (which had been causing symptoms of headache, dizziness, and memory loss in the patient) without disrupting the integrity of the brain tissue. This, to me, represents an outstanding case of the coordination between biomedical engineering and medicine. The second case was the removal of a tumor from the brain of a pediatric patient. This surgery was much more risky and invasive, as a larger incision was made in order to access the tumor. One of the challenges with this type of tumor, although the tumor was not identified as malignant, is to remove all of it within one surgical procedure.
One of the most notable differences between the clinical and research worlds that I have identified is the push for translational research. I have observed that in order to push work to a translational forum or a clinical trial there is often a fine balance between basic (in vitro) studies and higher-risk animal or clinical trials. I am interested in learning how regulatory committees and groups attempt to standardize this procedure to produce the best possible outcome. This concept would be an interesting thing for future students to note during the Immersion term.
This will be my final mention of NYC food. First, I would recommend the gnocchi from 1742 Wine Bar and the falafel pita from Abaleh. Finally, we enjoyed some pretty great ice cream from Sedutto. Pictured here is the blueberry flavor.
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