Welcome to our first Health Precinct Advisory Council e-newsletter. Providing you with the latest examples of our collaborations in education and research, these e-newsletters will become a regular feature of our communications.
We are very excited about the way in which the precinct is shaping up and the fantastic spirit of cooperation between our institutions.
In this edition we have updates from all our partners, along with a special tribute to Kay Giles who retires this month from the role of Chief Executive at Ara.
Ian Town
Chair, HPAC
University of Canterbury researchers at the Rose Centre for Stroke Recovery and Research, Professor Maggie-Lee Huckabee (left) and Esther Guiu Hernandez, demonstrate the innovative BiSSkiT skill training software.
Bioengineering aids recovery for swallowing disorders A medical device developed by University of Canterbury (UC) researchers, clinicians and engineers is improving the rehabilitation of people with difficulty swallowing due to a stroke or other neurological disorders.
UC Professor Maggie-Lee Huckabee, director of the Rose Centre for Stroke Recovery and Research, says individuals with swallowing impairments struggle with eating and drinking and can develop chest infections or require feeding through a tube, and consequently experience exclusion from many social engagements.
She says recent research has highlighted the important role of the brain’s cortex in swallowing rehabilitation.
“The brain is a remarkably adaptable organ and because of the way it controls swallowing, provides great potential for rehabilitation.”
With experts from the UC’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Professor Huckabee and her team developed a software-driven treatment programme called the Biofeedback in Strength and Skill Training or BiSSkiT.
With BiSSkiT, a small device displays the electrical activity of swallowing muscles in waveform on a computer screen. Patients can improve their motor control precision by using the waveform to hit a ‘target’ on screen.
Early research on BiSSkiT’s use with Parkinson’s disease patients has been positive, and further research is under way.
The device was recently approved for clinical use in New Zealand and Europe. Approvals will be sought for Australasian and North American markets.
The Health Research Education Facility (HREF) under construction in the Health Precinct.
Collaboration and innovation merge for Canterbury DHB As the framework goes up on the new Health Research Education Facility (HREF) within the Health Precinct, the partner organisations who will be based in the building are increasingly excited about the opportunities it will provide for health innovation and collaboration.
Plans already underway include a shared information and communication technology process, a co-designed simulation suite and virtual reality room, which will support education and training locally as well as across the South Island, and collaborative research projects.
Via Innovationsis the Canterbury Health System’s innovation arm. They have more than 10 projects at various stages in the pipeline, with three progressing to a stage where market release is expected this year.
A Medical Imaging student tries out the new Virtual Medical Coaching.
Ara first to use virtual reality X-ray training Virtual reality software introduced at Ara Institute of Canterbury is a game changer for medical imaging training here and internationally.
Students at Ara were this year the first in the world to learn to take X-rays with Virtual Medical Coaching (VMC); ground-breaking technology that gives students a safe, radiation-free environment to perfect their X-ray technique on virtual patients.
“Practical experience is core to our approach to training at Ara, and this will be a giant leap for medical imaging education,” Head of Nursing and Human Services at Ara, Dr Cathy Andrew, says.
The technology was developed by a team including James Hayes, who lectures in Medical Imaging at Ara. Medical imaging students around the world currently use decommissioned X-ray units and plastic body parts for training.
Ara medical imaging students now practice their X-ray skills using virtual reality headgear and controllers. VMC is coupled with an adaptive e-learning platform, which Ara is also the first to implement. This software adapts based on students’ answers to questions, quickly identifying their strengths and weaknesses. It gives lecturers access to data in order to adjust their course content to meet the needs of individual students.
Matariki: A time to look to the future of healthcare For Māori, the reappearance of constellations Matariki (Pleiades) and Tautoru (Orion), and the stars Puaka (Rigel) and Takurua (Sirius), marks a change in season and the beginning of a new year. An important part of Matariki celebrations is a reflection on the past and planning for the coming year.
For Health Precinct partners such as Matapopore, Matariki is an opportunity to reflect on collaboration and important conversations in healthcare. Such as how to train the next generation of health professionals in partnership, across disciplines and the boundaries of institutions.
Our health professionals face challenging trends such as growing evidence that people’s start in life has a lifelong impact on their health outcomes; a growing elderly population, living longer in poor health with multiple morbidities; and advances in technology, changing the way care is delivered.
We will need to be committed to our fellow collaborators, sharing visions of ways of working across our spaces and meeting the needs of our communities. This will require an integration of technology, data analysis, cultural competency and real innovation to prepare for the time ahead.
Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us.
Professor Geoff Chase (left) and Professor Geoff Shaw (right)
Life-saving collaboration between medicine and engineering The lives of hundreds of critically-ill patients, and millions of dollars, have been saved thanks to a long-standing collaboration between two of Christchurch’s Universities.
Intensive care specialist Professor Geoff Shaw (University of Otago, Christchurch) and engineer Distinguished Professor Geoff Chase (University of Canterbury) have worked together for almost 15 years, developing computer models that assist doctors interpret complex changes in the condition of intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
Their blood glucose model has been used in Christchurch Hospital’s ICU since 2005. It estimates whether a patient’s blood sugar is too high or low, then recommends a new insulin dose and the timing of the next blood test. Professor Shaw (now also a Professor at the University of Canterbury) says this minimises blood tests and improves patient safety by up to 50 times. Audits following the model’s implementation found there were up to 30 fewer deaths per year and annual savings of up to $1 million dollars through reductions in resource utilisation.
The collaborators are now studying a model of lung functioning in ICU patients.
FAREWELL
Kay Giles, Ara chief executive Kay retires from Ara and the Health Precinct Advisory Council at the end of June to return to her homeland for a well-earned retirement. We thank you Kay for your exceptional leadership and incredible energy. Over the past seven years you have contributed immensely to our education community in many ways; through enabling career pathways for our vulnerable youth, to championing innovation in the delivery of health professional education. You leave your mark well and truly in Christchurch, and in the hearts and minds of those who have enjoyed the privilege of working with you. We wish you and your family the very best for the future.
Learn more Thanks for taking the time to read about the inspiring work our people are doing right here on our door-step. If you would like to know more about Te Papa Hauora/ Health Precinct see our Website and this Press feature story.
