Three ways technology is transforming care at Children’s Hospital

October 6, 2019

Boston Children’s has a long history of inventing new treatments or adapting new technologies, and that work continues today. Clinicians are using virtual reality, 3-D printing, robotics, and other technologies to reinvent pediatric care. Ahead, read about three cutting-edge techniques that are helping doctors better care for patients.

1. MODEL BEHAVIOR

Stephen Wilson sees evidence of patients in need of help at Boston Children’s Hospital every day — tumors nestled problematically close to jawbones, spines warped by scoliosis, hearts threatened by congenital defects. But Wilson, a soft-spoken engineer, doesn’t treat patients. He sees their digital files — their MRIs and CT scans — and uses those to build tools that help the hospital’s doctors prepare for the unexpected.

Wilson is the senior engineering manager in Boston Children’s pediatric simulator program, also known as SIMPeds. He and his colleagues create lifelike models — or simulations, in medical parlance — to help doctors and surgical teams plan for and rehearse procedures before the patient arrives. And it’s upending the centuries-old tradition of training doctors on flesh and blood.

Read Complete Article