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Sheikh Zayed Institute Recognizes Innovation in Pediatric Surgery

Application of 3-CCD image fusion in minimally invasive surgery receives inaugural award at American Pediatric Surgical Association Annual Meeting

PALM DESERT, CA—An abstract featuring a novel fused imaging solution that employs a three channel charge coupled device (3-CCD) to enhance the surgeon’s view in minimally invasive surgery received the inaugural Sheikh Zayed Institute Award for Innovation in Pediatric Surgery at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA).

Maridelle B. Millendez, MD, a general surgery resident at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, presented the abstract during APSA’s first Innovation Session on behalf of a research team at National Naval Medical Center. The award, sponsored by the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Medical Center, recognizes the most innovative abstract from that session, as determined by an appointed APSA review committee.

“Advancing pediatric surgery requires us to innovate,” said Kurt D. Newman, MD, senior vice president of the Sheikh Zayed Institute and the Joseph E. Robert, Jr., Center for Surgical Care. “If successful, this application would give the surgeon greater precision, and is a perfect example of the creative thinking we need to encourage in our field to reimagine pediatric surgery.”

The abstract, titled “Evaluation of intestinal viability using a 3-CCD in children undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy,” was authored by Dr. Millendez, Nicole J. Crane, PhD, Eric A. Elster, MD, and Shawn D. Safford, MD, of the National Naval Medical Center. It demonstrates the novel use of widely available 3-CCD technology to visually enhance the appearance of ischemic versus normal bowel and to provide numerical data that differentiates ischemic from normal bowel. Computer calculated images superimposed over laparoscopic images highlight ischemic bowel in increasing intensities of blue relative to well-oxygenated tissue in increasing intensities of red. Decreasing intensity values correlate with worsening ischemia. Ultimately, the calculation of these enhanced images and the numerical values will be built into existing laparoscopic and handheld cameras to allow the surgeon to make an objective assessment of the viability of bowel while in the operating room. This technology has potential applications across many surgical procedures, especially in reducing the occurrence of short bowel syndrome in pediatric surgical patients.

Marshall Z. Schwartz, MD, president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association, and Dr. Newman presented Dr. Millendez with the award.

The American Pediatric Surgical Association seeks to ensure optimal pediatric surgical care of patients and their families, to promote excellence in the field, and to foster a vibrant and viable community of pediatric surgeons. The Sheikh Zayed Institute Award for Innovation in Pediatric Surgery was created as part of a historic gift for pediatric surgical innovation given by the government of Abu Dhabi on behalf of the country’s people to Children’s National Medical Center. That gift of $150 million founded the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, which expands the research of Children’s National through multidisciplinary approaches that aim to make pediatric surgery more precise, less invasive, and pain free.

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Contact: Jennifer Stinebiser, 202-476-4500.

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