Overview
Daily quality assurance (DQA) is a procedure performed prior to focused ultrasound treatments that is vital for ensuring patient safety and proper operation of the system. It is important to log DQA records, but there was previously no consistent procedure, so my project was to build a web application for users to save and retrieve DQA logs for their focused ultrasound system.
Goal
The goal was to make the application user-friendly on both desktop and mobile devices and for the interface flow to be generic enough that it could be used for multiple focused ultrasound devices and sites.
Results/Findings/Outcome
The application is now running and will be implemented at the UVA Focused Ultrasound Center and other sites. Authenticated users can enter logs, view a graph of thermal rise vs. energy over the lifetime of a system, and retrieve log files.
Why were you initially interested in working with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation?
I first heard about focused ultrasound in a guest lecture given by Dr. Aubry, and I was fascinated by the enormous potential of this technology to improve the lives of millions of patients around the world. I learned more about the Foundation and became interested in working here because I felt that an internship would allow me to make real contributions to help expedite the development of focused ultrasound.
How will your accomplishments impact the field of focused ultrasound?
The use of this application will make keeping track of DQA logs easier and more efficient, leading to safer operation and a clearer understanding of how the focused ultrasound machine’s parameters can change over time.
Has your internship affected your career plans? If so, how?
Yes. Working for the Foundation has reaffirmed my desire to work on the design and implementation of medical technologies that will improve quality of life. My project enabled me to make a direct impact on a technology that helps people, and this is something that I would like to continue doing throughout my career.
What do you see yourself doing in the next year? The next five years?
In one year, I will have graduated and hope to be working to help design and develop technologies or devices that directly benefit patients. Looking toward the future, I am very interested in bioinformatics and the digitization of medicine. These fields have enormous potential to change not only the way in which doctors diagnose and treat diseases, but also our very way of life. The use of technology in medicine and healthcare industries is nowhere near its potential saturation level, and this is something that I hope to change within the next five years and throughout my career.