Augusta University is Georgia's health sciences university and a national center for cyber security education. Home to the state’s only public academic medical center, Augusta’s world-class clinicians are bringing the medicine of tomorrow to patient care today. The university is comprised of nine colleges, including one of the nation's oldest medical schools, the Medical College of Georgia; the Hull College of Business; and the state's only dental school, the Dental College of Georgia.

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Lynsey Steinberg is one of 300 board-certified medical illustrators. It was during an undergrad equine anatomy class at the Savannah College of Art and Design where Lynsey realized her passion for the amalgamation of science and art. Replacing written exam answers with anatomical drawings led her into this unique profession which has evolved into creative problem solving solutions for the benefit of enhancing education.

Lynsey graduated with a master of science degree from the Medical College of Georgia and earned her board certification in 2016. Since joining Augusta University, she has earned a gamification certification, was awarded the Significant Contributions to Augusta University's COVID-19 Response Award by AU Research Institute including leading a team of over 60 individuals and 10 external companies and was one of the founding team members of the annual Innovate! interdisciplinary student team competition alongside Professors Vahe Heboyan and Scott Thorp. 

Lynsey has been able to experience hands-on surgery in the operating room, utilize development in virtual reality, 3D printing, animation, gamification, and graphic design while working directly with students, faculty, and physicians. As a team member she believes in creating engaging work with a passion for creative problem solving through collaboration, inspiration, and innovation.

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Virtual Reality

Medical Illustration

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Innovation

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Augusta University Instructional Innovation Team Page

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Director of Innovation at the Georgia Cyber Center

Virtual reality is quickly becoming an actual necessity in all facets of technology, education, entertainment and the workplace.

It's a popular topic, and Augusta University's Lynsey Steinberg sat down to answer a few questions about how far VR has come and where it's going.

 VR is changing everyday life for many. What are the biggest advances you've seen in VR use? Virtual reality is rapidly evolving and expanding. It wasn’t too long ago we were excited for the idea of a wireless head set. Now there are companies such as Virtuix creating 360-degree treadmills to interact with your experience in VR and Hypnos VR (a product which releases scents in the air based on the experience in VR). There have been advances of adaptive and stress response simulations based on pupillometry measurements or even integration of physiological sensors for behavioral research. The biggest advancements are solutions that have been unimaginable before that are now entirely possible.   It seems the medical field has been a big benefactor of VR. Is this giving students a better way to "learn" about anatomy and other aspects of the field? I believe all experience is valuable to learning. VR is unique in allowing an individual to view as if from their own perspective for virtual experiential learning. We often hear the phrase, “If you could imagine walking a mile in someone else’s shoes,” and now we can provide perspective, allowing another person to view the world as someone with a particular disease or simulate training in a low-risk environment. One example, Fire in the OR,  is a VR simulation allowing medical professionals to train safely on how to remove fire danger in the operating room. I believe simulations like these are remarkable examples of how valuable VR can be in education, to remove elements of danger in everyday life. Their research showed 250% improvement rate on fire safety in the OR.  A huge industry leader in surgical simulations is Osso VR,  creating surgical training procedures for surgeons and hiring some of our Augusta University medical illustration graduates.  How is this being applied at Augusta University? The Center for Instructional Innovation created modules with the Medical College of Georgia on handwashing hygiene health and end-of-life care scenarios with the College of Nursing.   We encourage faculty to develop multiple methods of interactive modules for the benefit of all learning styles. VR certainly provides engaging and enriching materials for a low-risk environment in instruction. The Center for Instructional Innovation is currently working with the Academic Student Success Center to implement Oculus Quest head sets for anatomy and physiology students to benefit from application use in VR.    Augusta University student Henry Oh and his 3D printed pottery from VR sculpture.  How else has VR and its use changed the way we go about our daily lives? VR head sets are known in robotics, manufacturing, therapeutic modalities, gaming capabilities, technology in research and education. Any scene you can film in 360 degrees you can now watch in a headset and be fully immersed in the scene (ie: a theater production, a museum tour, an art exhibit, a temple historically preserved, etc). We have gone from telling a story to being immersed in a story. We have been able to utilize VR technology integration and innovation on campus to create enriching learning experiences. We collaborated with our Ceramics department (with Brian McGrath and Raoul Pachecho) to support students in virtual clay sculpting with Adobe Medium. Students 3D printed their works of art after exporting the files from the VR simulation.   Where do you see the future of VR? The future developments for integrating systems for haptic feedback will be remarkable integrations. The continued development of behavioral research and integration of gamification is an exciting opportunity in VR as well as the continued development for protocols and appropriate safety procedures. The cross-platform and cross-disciplinary possibilities will allow for creativity to blossom in new world solutions.  It is clear, the ongoing need for technical workforce required to create and support more VR and other high-impact technology is rapidly growing.  VR is a fascinating topic and if you're a journalist looking to know more by speaking with Steinberg, then let us help.

 Steinberg is one of the 300 board-certified medical illustrators with experience in hands-on surgery in the operating room, utilizing development in virtual reality, 3D printing, animation, gamification and graphic design while working directly with students, faculty and physicians.

Steinberg is available to speak with media -- simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
  


Looking for a 'real' expert to explain the latest advances in virtual reality? We're here to help!

Create engagement through gamification in a manner consistent with cognitive and motivational science. Long Gamification is a new term associated with increased motivation to learn and based on the cognitive research behind psychology. Through Gamification, our purpose is to utilize game mechanics (points, badges, teamwork, leaderboards, etc) and enable learners to be inspired to extrinsically learn the material. The purpose is not to make a ‘game’ but to engage students through the science of motivation. This webinar will discuss what gamification is, why game mechanics are engaging, and how to apply these concepts in a learning environment. Through implementation of gamification, these techniques and components can be adapted to current teaching practices to benefit our students.

Facilitators:
Jeff Mastromonico and Lynsey Steinberg, Augusta University

Motivation and Gamification - Facilitators: Jeff Mastromonico and Lynsey Steinberg, Augusta University

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