7/14/2022 Brigid Kissane
Twelve undergraduate interns are joining the 2022 Jump ARCHES Summer Internship Program, led by HCESC. The internship pairs students up with project teams led by UIUC faculty and OSF Healthcare/UICOMP researchers that have active Jump ARCHES awards. We've asked each intern to tell us a little about themselves. We'd like to introduce you to Arnav Shah!
Written by Brigid Kissane
Twelve undergraduate interns are joining the 2022 Jump ARCHES Summer Internship Program, led by HCESC. The internship pairs students up with project teams led by UIUC faculty and OSF Healthcare/UICOMP researchers that have active Jump ARCHES awards. We've asked each intern to tell us a little about themselves. We'd like to introduce you to Arnav Shah!
Arnav is working with Dr. Abraham Kocheril of OSF and HCESC Simulation Engineer Harris Nisar on the Jump ARCHES project Mixed-Reality based Visualization and Simulation of Cardiovascular Procedures (Cardio VR). Cardiologists (and their teams) are responsible for conducting electrocardiograms (ECG) to record the electrical signals in the heart. This is a non-invasive procedure where electrodes are placed on the skin to record voltage over time to study the electrical activity of the heart. These electrodes detect small electrical changes that occur due to cardiac muscle depolarization followed by repolarization during each heartbeat. ECG is useful in diagnosing numerous cardiac abnormalities, including cardiac rhythm disturbances (atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia), inadequate coronary artery blood flow (myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction), and electrolyte disturbances (such as hypokalemia and hyperkalemia). Electrode lead placement is crucial in this procedure. If leads are not placed correctly, the patient can be incorrectly diagnosed. Researchers are developing a virtual reality software to teach about the ECG machine, how to prepare the patient to hook them up to it, and how to place the leads. The goal is to have a working prototype by the end of the summer to collect data about the usability and efficacy in teaching this procedure in this manner.
Arnav will be asked to implement simulations to educate about the various components of the ECG machine. He will also be asked to develop scenarios to set up the machine and help polish the application so it is ready for testing. Finally, he will need to document his progress with the hopes of submitting a poster at the end of the summer.
Where are you from?
I’m from Vadodara, India.
What is your major, and why are you interested in studying and working in your field of study?
I am majoring in Computer Science. Programming gives you the power to help any industry and you can create anything you can imagine using your coding skills.
What are you wanting to gain from your experience?
I hope to learn more about VR technologies and their production process. The internship is also an opportunity for me to learn working in an interdisciplinary team. I also want to learn the methodologies for conducting research in a healthcare-based setting.
What kind of work would you like to do in the future?
I would like to continue working in the healthcare technology industry so that I can save lives, literally.
What other plans do you have for the future?
I would like to get a job in the healthcare/technology sector or pursue a master's in Computer Science or Business Administration.
Do you have any hobbies? Does this activity relate to your studies or influence what you want to do with your future?
I am a percussionist and I love playing tabla and drums. I would like to do some side projects so that I can use my music and coding skills to create helpful software for musicians.