BBC World’s “The Health Show” filmed a feature using the inflatable operating theatre Studiohead created for Imperial College London. This version of the surgical training simulation features an Angioplasty; a wire is inserted through the artery in the thigh to unblock an obstructed blood vessel.

In normal cases the patient is under local anaesthetic during the procedure, and so in this set up, we have concealed an actor under the simulated patient to create realistic pressures on the clinical team.

The large ‘C-arm’ is an X-ray machine that allows the cardiologist to see the blood vessels, the blockage, and the inserted stent. We recreated a portable simulation of this imposing equipment, which is linked to a virtual reality simulation of the heart and blood vessels shown on the screens, created by Imperial College engineers.

In creating the simulation, we spent time observing real angioplasty’s in hospitals in London and Oxford to decide how to recreate the procedure in a realistic, but low-cost and portable way.

The resulting simulation provides an immersive training environment for clinical teams that recreates the pressures of the real thing, as well as a valuable tool for engaging the public about this increasingly common operation that is often used following a heart attack.

You can see the feature from “the Health Show” here:
http://rockhopper.tv/programmes/756

Studiohead’s operating theatre featured in Jamie Oliver’s Channel 4 production ‘Dream school’. Dream School’s science teacher, Professor Robert Winston invited Roger Kneebone and the team from Imperial College to give a practical lesson in Surgery to inspire children to re-engage with education. As one young lady put it, “Oh my god that was soooo gud, that was amaaaaaaazing!”…

Studiohead director Matt Harrison led a team in December’s 48 Hour Inclusive Design Challenge,as part of Desgin Korea 2010.

“Best presentation prize went to Team iPop led by Studiohead’s Matt Harrison for a mainstream device and smart phone application inspired by their profoundly deaf design partner, that enhances the cinema experience for everyone by projecting subtitles on to a pair of glasses with an embedded transparent video screen.”

In 48 hours the team researched the needs of a deaf person in the cinema environment, and came up with a design concept that can open up the world of cinema, not only to deaf people, but foreigners, language students and twitter users! An open source app delivers real time subtitles in any language, augmented onto the cinema screen through a pair of glasses. The whole process is managed through your smart phone that listens to the soundtrack of the film, and matches it with an online database of film scripts.

For more information about the Challenge, and the design please visit:

http://www.hhc.rca.ac.uk/3565/all/1/Seoul-2010.aspx

The ‘Distributed Simulation’ surgical environment designed by Studiohead and the team at Imperial College were invited to appear in an upcoming channel 4 program called “Dream School”. The program follows a group of teenagers, all of whom left school with no qualifications, and aims to re-engage them with education, getting them interested in a range of subjects through inspirational teachers and teaching methods. In the episode that was filmed yesterday the team at Imperial College, led by Dr Roger Kneebone, were invited to give an insight into surgery and the medical profession using their simulated environment. They encouraged the students to participate and experience the roles of different clinicians during a simulated surgical procedure.

Studiohead director Cian Plumbe who believes in design involvement throughout the development process, took this mantra to new levels by appearing as a stab victim in the dramatic introduction to the class aided by the work of medical special effects artists ‘Health Cuts Ltd’.

The program, the brainchild of Jamie Oliver, that included Science lessons with Professor Robert Winston and English lessons with Simon Callow will air sometime in February / March next year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11452711

Studiohead are currently testing a simulated Anaesthetic machine they have developed for Imperial College London. This has been showcased at the AMEE conference in Glasgow this month, and received great interest from medical educators.

The machine encompasses two iPads that display the patient’s simulated ECG and ventilation screens. These can be manipulated by an invigilator via an iPod touch (below), to change the patients heart rate, blood pressure and more. The invigilator can also introduce a heart attack to the simulation via the iPod.

Studiohead are supporting Imperial College London at the Cheltenham Festival of Science this weekend, where school children and members of the public can try their hand at being a surgeon.

The portable operating theatres we designed for Imperial College School of Medicine are proving a hit with aspiring medics.

Read about this at Imperial College News

Read about this on the Cheltenham Festivals blog

Studiohead director Cian Plumbe has contributed as author to the new publication Innovation With People, launched at last weeks Innovation for All 2010 conference in Oslo.

The book is a comprehensive guide to inclusive design principles, written for the business sector as well as design practitioners, and includes examples of good practice including Studiohead’s TwoTone Phone, which we did for BT while at the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art.

Cian’s contribution, as co-author,  was to provide the designer’s perspective and to describe hands on tools for applying inclusive design and research methods.

Innovation with People is edited by Onny Eikhaug and Rama Gheerawo, and published by the Norwegian Design Council

Studiohead traveled to Miami recently together with the team from Imperial College to participate in the 14th OTTAWA conference. The conference ran from the 17 – 19 May and focussed on the assessment of competence in medicine and the healthcare professions. We were showcasing the Distributed Simulation platform that we have developed for Imperial College. Cian Plumbe, director of Studiohead, was there to present the features of the design to the predominantly medical audience and to describe the ongoing design work that we are doing.

Studiohead designers Matt Harrison and Cian Plumbe will be on site to talk about the design ideas behind the Simulation, where we have adapted a process we have called “selective abstraction” to minimise equipment and maximise effect of this immersive environment.