May 2001 - Computer science students at Trinity University are developing a virtual reality program to enable dentists and oral surgeons to practice the process of administering anesthesia shots without harming a patient's jaw. 

The idea is to allow dentistry students at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and elsewhere to learn to distinguish between the soft tissue and hard bone areas of a patient·s mouth. Improper injections can cause pain and in extreme cases, paralysis.

Using virtual reality concepts and a wired glove called a ·Cyber Grasp,· the computer operator · and ultimately, a medical professional · can experiment with picking up a syringe and injecting a patient·s jaw, says Gerald Pitts, a distinguished professor and chair of the computer science department at Trinity. 

“Under the virtual concept, it's not real, but it looks real, and it provides a tremendous training opportunity,” says Professor Pitts. “There's no person and no syringe, but they think there's a person and a syringe, and it gives them immediate feedback. The idea is to try over and over without hurting the patient.”

The students, including Chris Smith of Boise, Idaho, have spent a year developing the programs to make virtual training a reality for dental professionals. One software program required about 10,000 lines of command codes, Mr. Smith says, adding, “We have high hopes. There's no road map for creating the future of virtual reality for dentists, but we want to help them learn how to give injections before they actually give the injections.”

To learn more about computer science students using virtual reality for medical training, contact Susie P. Gonzalez at (210) 999-8406 or e-mail Susie.Gonzalez@Trinity.edu.