NMCSD Conducts Tele-Mentoring Surgical Study

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Luke Cunningham | 210127-N-LW757-1134 SAN DIEGO (Jan. 27, 2020) Lt. j.g. Alessa Andersen, a registered nurse assigned to Naval Medical Center San Diego's (NMCSD) Main Operating Room, inserts a laparoscopic camera into one of the arms of a robotic surgery system during a robotic-assisted laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair procedure in one of the hospital's operating rooms Jan. 27. Robotic surgical systems, like those used at NMCSD, allow surgeons to perform minimally-invasive procedures, and this procedure was performed during a remote, tele-mentoring study. NMCSD’s mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality healthcare services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research. NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active duty military personnel, civilians, and contractors in Southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Luke Cunningham)  

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES

01.29.2021

Story by Seaman Luke Cunningham 

Naval Medical Center San Diego

SAN DIEGO – Surgeons and specialists assigned to Naval Medical Center San Diego's (NMCSD) General Surgery Department initiated an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved surgical tele-mentoring study Jan. 27.
The study involved a surgical team mentor communicating via video teleconference (VTC) with surgeons while they performed a robotic-assisted laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair procedure in one of the hospital's operating rooms.
Capt. Gordon Wisbach, NMCSD’s Bio-skills Training and Simulation Center surgical director, mentored the surgical team from a remote office in the hospital.
"The study is designed so that [the tele-mentors] act as if we're in the operating room, as part of the team," said Wisbach. "The goal is to eventually be able to tele-mentor surgical teams in various locations around the world from NMCSD’s future Virtual Medical Operations Center (VMOC)."
NMCSD's VMOC will serve as the medical tele-mentoring hub for the Indo-Pacific region.
Surgical tele-mentoring will address multiple challenges, such as shortages in military surgeons, geographical barriers, financial burdens and risky or prohibitive long distance travel.
"We are trying to establish a foundation here," said Wisbach. "We are collecting feedback so once we launch the system outside of our hospital, we know it will be embedded and perform well."
Tele-mentoring surgical residents and providing an avenue to virtually leverage information from experts is expected to relieve the burden of needing to physically travel or disrupt surgical schedules, thus reducing cost and improving patient care.
The tele-mentoring study is funded by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center. The study strategically aligns with the Defense Health Agency's (DHA) effort to expand surgical expertise and improve surgical, patient care within the DHA.
The effort will develop an effective path for tele-surgery, and improve patient care without geographical limitations during times of peace, war and pandemics.
NMCSD’s mission is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high-quality healthcare services and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research. NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active duty military personnel, civilians and contractors in Southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere.
Visit navy.mil or facebook.com/NMCSD for more information.

• Date Taken: 01.29.2021
• Date Posted: 02.04.2021 12:37
• Story ID: 387984
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CA, US