Score Sheet' 600'445 Homework

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Score Sheet. 600.445 Homework 1 Fall
2005Name_______________ Email
______________Name_______________ Email
______________
I/we worked alone on this assignment and followed
all other guidelines ________________________
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600.445 Homework 1 - Fall 2005General Notes
and Instructions

• I would really appreciate typed, double spaced
  and READABLE output that is firmly attached
  together. Sketches can of course be hand drawn. I
  am not looking for beauty, just legibility and
  room to mark them up. Generous margins are also
  nice.
• Put your name and email address on each sheet and
  number the sheets
• Attach the grade sheet as the first sheet and
  attach all sheets together.
• You must include a self-addressed, seal-able 8 ½
  x 11 inch envelope if you expect to the homework
  to be returned (per JHUs interpretation of
  FERPA).
• You should work in teams of two on this exercise.
  In many future problems you will be asked to
  work alone, but you may do this one together.
• You are encouraged to make free use of any
  published materials, the web, etc. in developing
  your answer but a) you must give full and proper
  citations to any references consulted and b) you
  may not consult, discuss, or otherwise
  communicate about this assignment with any human
  being except your lab partner, the course
  instructor, or the TAs.
• I do not expect truly expert answers at this
  point, nor am I expecting a great deal of
  clinical expertise beyond that included in the
  referenced book chapters. The main purpose of
  this exercise is to get you thinking analytically
  about the relationship between systems,
  application needs, and technology.
• Note that Homework 2 will be a continuation of
  this assignment

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Problem Scenario CT-Guided Percutaneous Needle
Placement

• Consider the problem of CT-guided percutaneous
  spine interventions.
• Dr. Fichtinger briefly described the standard
  freehand way for performing this process. He
  also discussed several approaches to improving
  this process, including optical overlay, in-plane
  laser guiding, various passive mechanical
  alignment aids, and active robot systems.
• The purpose of this exercise is to get you
  accustomed to the process of evaluating
  alternative approaches to solving a clinical
  problem, from different perspectives.
• The next assignment will involve developing
  alternative approaches to a slightly more
  difficult problem, quickly evaluating them, and
  fleshing out a preferred approach.

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Question 1 (20 points) Evaluation criteria

• Develop an outline for evaluating percutaneous
  in-scanner CT-guided needle placement procedures,
  including such factors as cost, safety,
  effectiveness of pain relief, accuracy,
  time, etc. For each such criterion, include
• Short definition or explanation of the criterion
• Short discussion of how how that criterion should
  be assessed (e.g., units of measure, means of
  gathering information)
• Short discussion of how important each criterion
  is to each relevant group affected (patient,
  surgeon, hospital administrator, insurance
  company, employer, etc.)
• It is strongly recommended that your answer
  include a tabular summaries, with additional
  notes as needed if things dont fit conveniently
  into boxes. See example on next pages, which is
  being written on the airplane, which may
  influence things a bit.

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Example Air Transportation
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Example Air Transportation
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Question 2 (20 points) Evaluating Current
Practice

• (10 points) Briefly summarize the standard,
  unassisted freehand method for doing in-scanner
  percutaneous needle procedures. Here, Im
  looking for a very short outline describing the
  procedural work flow, what information the
  surgeon uses, and how. Add a sketch or two if it
  helps your description, but dont feel obligated.
  The total explanation should not exceed 1 page
  may be shorter.
• (10 points) Then produce a table evaluating this
  method using the criteria you have developed in
  Question 1. Include a short explanation
  justifying your characterizations.

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Question 3 (20 points) Evaluating alternative
method

• (10 points) Select one of the enhanced methods
  described by Dr. Fichtinger. Briefly summarize
  the method.
• This summary should include should include a
  brief outline of the steps of the procedure, the
  information required to perform each step and the
  information generated by each step.
• Again, be concise (2 pages max). Include
  sketches if it helps explain.
• It should make clear the role of
  technology/computing in the method
• It should also identify key coordinate systems
  that the computer will need to keep track of and
  the relationship between these. Dont worry
  about formulas of any sort at this stage.
• For the current problem, you should assume in
  plane needle placements. I.e., cases in which
  the needle entry point and target point are in
  the same CT image slice.
• (10 points) Produce a table evaluating this
  method using the criteria developed in Question
  1.

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Question 4 (20 points) Evaluating alternative
method

• (10 points) Select another of the enhanced
  methods described by Dr. Fichtinger. Briefly
  summarize the method as in Question 3.
• Note Here I want you to select a method that is
  significantly different from the one you select
  in Question 3.
• (10 points) Produce a table evaluating this
  method using the criteria developed in Question
  1.

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Question 5 (20 points) Comparing Alternatives

• Rank order the three methods that you have
  selected from the perspective of the different
  groups that you have identified in Question 1,
  using your evaluation in Questions 2-4. For each
  group, I am looking for a short, but clear,
  explanation of the relative merits and drawbacks
  of the methods from the perspective of that
  group, together with an indication of how
  strongly one method might be preferred to
  another. For each group, your answer should be
  only a few sentences.

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VERY IMPORTANT NOTE

• There are no right answers to this assignment.
  Mostly, I am encouraging you to think. Grading
  will be based on your analysis and reasoning.
• I do not want extremely long answers. At the
  same time, you should provide enough material so
  that we can understand your reasoning and
  evidence that you have thought seriously about
  the problem.
• Your next assignment will require you to briefly
  sketch two alternative approaches to a similar
  problem of assisting with out-of-plane needle
  placement, evaluate them, and then flesh out your
  preferred embodiment.