The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost has awarded Destination Area 2.0 Phase II funding to a transdisciplinary team of faculty aiming to make Virginia Tech a global leader in human systems integration in health care.

After receiving initial Destination Area 2.0 funding in 2023, “Building the Future of Technology Implementation in Health Care: Human Systems Integration” has become the latest project to win additional grant support to develop solutions to complex global problems.

“Supporting highly collaborative communities of talent that span colleges, departments, and disciplines is a cornerstone of advancing research excellence at Virginia Tech,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke. “Through their scholarship and partnerships, our DA [Destination Area] 2.0 teams are creating global distinction and fostering transdisciplinary discovery and innovation. I congratulate the human systems integration team on their Phase II award and look forward to their continued work in the deployment of health care technology.”

The project

New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality immersion have the potential to be a game-changer in health care settings, but only when they’re applied in ways that are effective for both practitioners and patients.

With “Building the Future of Technology Implementation in Health Care,” a diverse team of health care providers and medical researchers have partnered with engineers, artists, designers, data scientists, and other experts from across and outside Virginia Tech to examine three research topic areas critical to the deployment of technology within health care:

  • AI as a tool for human-centered health care delivery
  • Health care data privacy and cybersecurity
  • Immersive simulation and gaming as a tool for clinical training and patient learning

Researchers are also piloting the innovative use of LiDAR, radar, and cameras in clinical settings to capture and measure clinical interactions around patient care. Ultimately, faculty hope to use the data to create a naturalistic clinical interaction database that points to the most successful approaches to technology implementation. 

Principal investigators

  • Sarah Parker, associate professor and chair of health systems and implementation science, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
  • James Ivory, professor of English, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences

Primary affiliated faculty

  • Nick Rider, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
  • Denis Gracanin, Department of Computer Science
  • Jacob Grohs, Department of Engineering Education
  • Michael Hsiao, Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Laura Halcomb, Department of Sociology
  • Monifa Vaughn-Cooke, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
  • Andrew Gipe-Lazarou, School of Architecture
  • Nathan A. Jones, Carilion Clinic

The impact

Phase II funding from Virginia Tech will support the hiring of additional faculty over the next several years as well as the development of tools to evaluate and improve the impact of technology on patient outcomes and clinician experience in health care. “We need to think about technology as teammate, not just technology as tool,” said Parker. 

“For Virginia Tech to support this research thrust is tremendously exciting, and will be differentiating for our work going forward.”

Destination Area 2.0

As the next evolution of Destination Areas, Destination Area 2.0 grants support the high-impact work that occurs when researchers collaborate beyond boundaries to find solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems.

“This recognition through the Destination Area 2.0 award highlights our commitment to advancing research at the intersection of human systems, technology, and health care,” said Lee Learman, dean of Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM). “With rapid growth in grant funding and impactful collaborations, we are setting the stage for VTCSOM to become a leader in health systems research, discovering and implementing innovative approaches to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes. This is a proud moment for our school, and we look forward to the transformative impact this award will have.”

For more information on Destination Area 2.0 projects, visit the Destination Area 2.0 website.

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