Professor Venky Dubey and PhD student Neil Vaughan from Bournemouth University were featured on a number of medical websites, such as Medical Xpress and The Engineer, highlighting their award-winning medical device that makes epidural injections safer and more effective.
The device, an epidural simulator, uses software to predict where a patient’s epidural space will be, as this varies from person to person.
The project, led by Venky Dubey, won the Information Technology category at the Institution of Engineering and Technology Innovation Awards, which received over 400 entries.
The software replicates the conditions of giving an epidural to a real-life patient and allows adjustments for different heights, BMI’s, angles and rotations of the spine. The simulator allows doctors to train for the procedure, improving results and reducing potential risks to patients.
Dr Wee, consultant specialist at Poole Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust, said “there is a need to provide precise training in a delicate clinical procedure which has potential devastating effects to the mother when things go wrong”.