As technology has developed and become more efficient and erstatile, it has been increasingly intertwined with medical procedures for numerous reasons, all of which have the primary goal of improving the health outcomes of patients. Our project is an iOS External Ventricular Drain Tracker application. Our client, Dr. Andrew Abumoussa, discussed how the current practice of the External Ventricular Drain procedure relies on neurosurgeons estimating the angle and insertion depth of the stent as they insert it into the brain.
The goal of this app is to make this routinely performed procedure easier and more accurate by providing a projected guide of the pressure point by overlaying the patient’s 3D scan over the patient’s head on the app’s screen. The app then relies on data transmitted from the neurosurgeon’s Apple Watch and an AI tracker on the stent to successfully guide the neurosurgeon’s insertion. Our project’s core values are accuracy, precision, and privacy. These values all attest to the goal of the project, to improve patient outcomes and the success rate of the procedure. The External Ventricular Drain procedure is performed an estimated 20,000 – 25,000 times each year, which leaves a lot of room for error. The brain is a sensitive organ, and one wrong poke can lead to a slew of complications for the patient. Our project meets the need for neurosurgeons performing this surgery as no current tool exists to assist the neurosurgeon in real-time when inserting the stent. Neurosurgeons rely on previously scanning the patient’s CT scan, their experience in performing the procedure, and their best judgment. Common complications for this procedure include a brain hemorrhage (stroke), dislodgement, blockage, and various types of infection. These complications are all dangerous and deadly in their own regard. Our project works to reduce the prevalence of these complications by improving the success rate of the procedure. It also could make patients feel more secure in the procedure being performed, as some patients are awake when this procedure is performed. By giving neurosurgeons this tool, we put the decision in the doctor’s hands.
Not all doctors may choose to use this tool, but, by giving them the option, we could improve the lives of numerous individuals who undergo this procedure each year. Our part in this project is to help wrap up the application and optimize different portions of it. Primarily, we are developing a dynamic sampling algorithm to decrease the facial CT Scan alignment’s impact on the GPU and battery life. We are also developing a 3D Multivariate Kalman Filter to help denoise the statistical data being transmitted from the Apple Watch to the phone app, thus increasing the stent tracking accuracy. These portions work to improve the effectiveness and lifespan of the app (or phone). Overall, we are confident this application can make a real change in this world and improve the patient outcomes of this common procedure.