The E*STAR Experience - Emory Simulation, Training and Robotics Lab

ASP’s close relationship with Emory University’s E*STAR lab (Emory Simulation, Training And Robotics), Directed by Dr. Daniel Smith, will provide an excellent opportunity for students to develop and hone their skills in a growing field of robotics in medicine. The E*STAR lab, located on Emory’s main campus, is the home of state-of-the-art training equipment that has the potential to dramatically enhance students’ competency in using laparoscopic equipment. Sessions are scheduled on a regular basis.

About E*STAR (Source: http://www.surgery.emory.edu/gen_surgery/estar.htm)

Temporarily located in Emory University Hospital Annex n204 on the Emory University campus, Emory Simulation, Training And Robotics (E*STAR) is devoted to developing, validating, and applying simulation-based educational tools and devices, curricula, and robotics for use in medical education, training, and patient care. Upon the projected completion of construction in early 2007, E*STAR will have a permanent and core presence in the 116,000 square-foot medical education complex that will adjoin the Anatomy and Physiology Buildings. The complex will be the perfect home for E*STAR, as the structure is being built to provide Emory with state-of-the-art teaching laboratories and classrooms combined with cutting-edge communications technology.

Since January 2003, E*STAR has monitored and contributed to the proliferation of simulation technology and robotics that is altering how surgeons develop skills and treat patients. Simulation is an alternative to the standard methods used to teach surgical procedures; e.g. practice on animal models or cadavers, observation or assistance of a senior surgeon, and the performance of procedures under the supervision of an attending surgeon. In addition to mitigating the cost and unpredictability of these methods, simulation has potential for assessing and improving skills before they are used in the operating room. The use of robotics in the OR, from the performance of delicate procedures to surgeons robotically assisting one another remotely via Internet connections, is also being studied by E*STAR.

The center is directed by Dr. C. Daniel Smith, W. Dean Warren Professor of Surgery and chief of the division of general and gastrointestinal surgery as well as director of the Emory Endosurgery Unit. In addition to being a surgical simulation advocate who has researched the field for the past twelve years, Dr. Smith is nationally regarded as a significant figure in the development and refinement of minimally invasive techniques. In 1995, Dr. Smith helped refine the use of one of the first general surgery simulators ever developed and has continued to work on refining others.

"It's analogous to flight simulation in flight training," he says. "Surgeons can now perform many procedures before ever touching a patient in the operating room. Simulation methods can take much of the cost and risk out of these methods. These educational tools also offer ways to bring skills to a much higher level before a young doctor ever sets foot in the OR."

Hardware/Software

E*STAR has over $2 million in hardware, including two surgical robots, four VR minimally invasive surgery trainers, an interventional cardiology simulator for coronary catheterization and stent placement, a flexible endoscopy simulator for colonoscopy and upper endoscopy, a urology simulator for endoscopic urologic procedures, and eight fully equipped endoscopic surgery imaging systems. Several of these simulators are unavailable anywhere else in the United States. E*STAR also has proprietary telecommunications software that allows teleconferencing and telementoring over the Internet, capabilities that the Department of Defense and various commercial entities have shown interest in.

Collaboration and Contact

An integral component of the center’s mission is to be a collaborative resource for surgical training programs both within and outside Emory. At this juncture, E*STAR is engaged in training projects with the Division of Cardiology, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Gynecology, Department of Urology, Division of Vascular Surgery, and the School of Nursing at Emory. Any individuals or organizations in the medical/surgical industry that are interested in what E*STAR has to offer are encouraged to contact Dr. Smith at 404.712.1684, csmit27@emory.edu.

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